An aircraft support engineer is hoping to complete his 13th challenge this year to raise money for the hospice that cared for his “incredible” wife during her final months with breast cancer. Steve Radcliffe’s latest challenge is perhaps the toughest of the lot as he takes on Mount Kilimanjaro.
The 42-year-old, who lives in Camberley, Surrey, decided to attempt 13 sporting challenges between April and October to raise money for Phyllis Tuckwell Hospice, which supported his wife Janey. These have included triathlons in Dorney Lake, Bournemouth and Newbury and a 52-mile cycle ride in Hampshire, before he tackles the largest free-standing mountain in the world.
During Breast Cancer Awareness Month, Steve said: “Janey was diagnosed with cancer back in 2016. She just put her head down and got on with it. She was incredible.
“She had chemotherapy, radiotherapy and she had a mastectomy – we thought that she’d got through it, but about 10 months after she finished treatment, we found out that it had come back and it was already in her spine and in her liver. So at that point it was kind of end game, so we focused on making the time we had together as memorable as possible.”
About a year before she died, Janey needed “decent pain management”. This was provided by the hospice, whose dedicated nurse “looked after Janey and was there for her to call any time” until her death in November 2020 at the age of 48, with Steve describing them as “awesome”.
On his fundraising page, an update on April 4 earlier this year read: "I guess I just need to crack on now! I’m currently in very poor shape, having put on quite a bit of timber over the last couple of years, and my back is being an absolute git. However, I will throw everything I have at this, I promise."
As he prepares for his final challenge, Mr Radcliffe reflected on the path which led him to this point. He identified the Farnborough Flyer in September - which involved a 52-mile cycle ride - as his toughest test, with it leaving him with cramps in the quads in his legs.
“And I was just in agony for the last 10 miles,” he added. “Every time I tried to go up a hill, my legs just cramped up again and I had to get off the bike and almost squat by the road until they released again so I could carry on.”
Included in his most memorable moments was an incident with an exploding tyre. He continued: “I did a triathlon where the weather was so hot that my rear tyre exploded.
“I had one of those slime tyres, which is supposed to prevent punctures, but what actually happened was that the inner tube exploded and I ended up with green slime everywhere – so that was amusing.”
Another challenge - the Salty Sea Dog Triathlon in Bournemouth - was described as “good fun”. The event was a sprint triathlon, combining a 750m sea swim with a 23km ride along the top of the cliff and a 5km run along the seafront.
“I’ve never done a triathlon with a swim in the sea before,” Steve continued. “I really enjoyed having to run from the beach into the water and then run off the beach back up to the bike and get the sand off your feet before your cycle shoes on – or trainers in my case as I forgot mine.”
Kilimanjaro was soon in his sights as he wanted to do something “bigger, quite literally”. The hospice, who had been updated on his various adventures, put him in touch with the company that organised his trip to Tanzania.
He opted for this particular mission in part due to a friend who climbed it for her 50th birthday. After being pushed back because of the pandemic, Mr Radcliffe heads for east Africa on Thursday, with him “excited about taking on the challenge with five friends”.
The aim is for them to climb the mountain in five days and descend in a day-and-a-half. They hope to celebrate reaching the summit by playing ukuleles with vinyl graphics on them designed by his engineer friend Simon Taylor.
So far, Steve has raised just over £6,000 out of his personal target of £10,000. He described the support for the cause as “overwhelming”.
“So many people have donated money from a few quid up to a serious amount of money,” he added. “It’s just been overwhelming – every time I get an email from JustGiving saying that someone else has donated, I just can’t believe it.”
More details about Mr Radcliffe’s fundraiser can be found at justgiving.com/fundraising/kilimanjaro-steve
