Shamrock Quay berth holder to run a virtual marathon for two amazing charities

On Sunday the 3rd October 2021, when the London Marathon is due to take place, Dr Bee Flavell, a long-standing berth holder at Shamrock Quay, will complete a virtual London Marathon to raise money for two charities, Leukaemia Busters and Bowel Cancer UK.

As it’s a virtual London Marathon, Bee is able to choose her own running route. She has selected to start at Southampton General Hospital where she works as co-Scientific Director of Leukaemia Busters, and will run to Ocean Village Marina in Southampton and then complete 13 laps around the marina basin, a total distance of 26.2 miles (42.195 km).

Speaking of her ambitious challenge, Bee says “I’m celebrating my 70th birthday this year and I wanted to do something big to celebrate this great milestone and my survival from colon cancer four years ago.”

This is Bee’s first marathon and the first time she has run long-distance since taking part in the 10-mile great South Run in 2014. Now seven years on and over twice the distance, Bee has been training intensely to prepare herself. To help with training, she has moved her boat ‘Simon’s Spirit’ to Ocean Village to use as a base and provide easy access to the circuit.

MDL has been amazing supporting my effort, which I am very grateful for. Proving me with such a fantastic base to enable me to do my daily training circuits has been invaluable.

Tim Mayer, Sales & Marketing Director at MDL Marinas, commented: “We have been hugely impressed by Bee’s dedication and training for two such great causes, and decided it was only right to help support her fundraising efforts. We’ll be showing live coverage of her run on our Facebook page and displaying it at our MDL Fitness open weekend on 3rd October at Queen Anne’s Battery in Plymouth. We wish her the best of luck and we’ll be following her every step of the way!”

This mammoth run is in aid of two charities that are very close to her heart, after sadly losing her 10-year-old son Simon to Leukaemia in 1990 and fighting bowel cancer in 2017. Leukaemia Busters was founded by Bee and her husband David, along with two other sets of parents whose children were undergoing treatment at Southampton General Hospital for leukaemia or lymphoma.

Since then, they have built up the children’s research charity to conduct research into new antibody-based treatments and to support national clinical trials with these for the treatment of children with incurable forms of leukaemia. Bowel Cancer UK are the UK’s leading bowel cancer charity, who provide expert information, support, and research to save lives and improve the quality of life of people affected by bowel cancer.

Bee continues, “This is an enormous challenge, but it’s one that I intend to meet head on and succeed with. These two charities are of personal significance to me and I’m hoping my running efforts will help raise further funds to find new cures and improve the chances for others in the future. I have received amazing support from my husband, two daughters, family and friends. My heartfelt thanks go to everyone for your generous support.”

If you would like to donate and support Bee in her endeavours for two such worthy causes, then please visit: https://uk.virginmoneygiving.com/BeeFlavell1.

To learn more about Leukaemia Busters visit - https://leukaemiabusters.org.uk.

To learn more about Bowel Cancer UK visit - https://www.bowelcanceruk.org.uk.