Sky Sports presenter Jeff Stelling has launched plans for another marathon march to raise funds for prostate cancer in honor of the doyen of broadcasting, Bill Turnbull.
Turnbull, who died of prostate cancer in August aged 66, was a devoted Wycombe fan and Stelling will undertake his 34th ‘Football March’ charity walk in September, from Wembley Stadium to Adams Park, home of the League One club. .
“I’ve done a lot of these walks over the years because of prostate cancer and to be honest I thought I’d done the last one,” said Hartlepool supporter Stelling, legendary presenter of Soccer Saturday on Sky Sports.
‘I thought I was 33 and out. And then this idea came to me. I wasn’t a great friend of Bill’s, but looking back, you can find some parallels and commonalities.
“We both started in local radio in the late 70s, we both worked at LBC in London for a while, we both supported minor league football teams.
Jeff Stelling has launched his upcoming marathon walk to raise funds for Prostate Cancer UK
Stelling announced the news of his upcoming Football March at Wycombe Stadium on Monday
Stelling admitted that he was inspired to launch a new charity effort after the death of iconic presenter Bill Turnbull (pictured), who died of prostate cancer last year.
“I saw it on BBC Breakfast and Strictly, and Bill did a lot when he spoke publicly about his prostate cancer. It had a massive, massive impact, I think there was a 20 percent increase in people going for advice.
“We all wanted to do something as a tribute and continue his work.”
His first walk covered 262 miles from Hartlepool to Wembley in 2016, and Stelling has raised around £1.4m for Prostate Cancer UK and raised awareness for a disease that will affect one in eight men and kills on average one every 45 minutes.
Still, the prospect of another epic 26+ mile march fills him with a certain amount of dread.
“It’s a long road,” said Stelling, 67. ‘In the early days, I thought how hard can this be? I used to run marathons and thought it couldn’t be that hard, but it is, if not more so, mainly from the wear and tear of being on your feet for so long.
“But you’re walking in a group and everyone has a reason to walk, lives with someone or knows someone who has had prostate cancer. There is a unique camaraderie and it is not all gloom, it is something joyful.
‘At least for the first 17 or 18 miles. That’s a long time to walk and a long time to talk to get your mind off the fact that your feet hurt and something rubs against you and there are 10 miles to go.
As he launched his final challenge at Adams Park, Wycombe, Stelling recalled fond memories of the early stages of his first march.
Stelling (right) posed for photos with Wycombe Wanderers manager Matt Bloomfield (left)
The legendary Sky Sports presenter will start his new career on Sunday, September 17
“On the second day of the first series of marches we did, we walked from York to Leeds,” he said. “Some people were drifting away at a considerable rate, and we weren’t as well ordered as we should have been and half the group got lost and wandered aimlessly towards Leeds, and instead of going 26 miles we did 34. We got lost in Leeds and to say he was furious was an understatement.
“The next day we were on the Doncaster to Scunthorpe stage. It was miserable, wet and depressing, the worst supported leg of any of the 33 hikes we’d done.
“Only 17 people were walking with us, there were no celebrities and I remember thinking this is a nightmare.
Stelling is hoping to convince his friend and Sky Sports colleague Chris Kamara (pictured) to join the walk as well.
“Halfway down, we came to a pub and Ian Botham, who had returned from Australia the day before, was waiting with his wife, daughter and dog, and he picked us all up. He did the second half of the hike and it was a different world. Beefy literally saved the day.
Stelling vows to cajole some of his Soccer Saturday colleagues and longtime friend Chris Kamara, who stepped down from Sky Sports duties in 2022 when he was diagnosed with apraxia of speech, into taking part one way or another.
“Kammy has done a lot of the walking with us,” he added. “He’s always been a big supporter of it, but I’m not sure a) about his health and b) because he’s going to be overwhelmed with EBM from him.” I hope we can involve the current group. Clinton Morrison should be a definite starter.
Jeff Stelling will walk from Wembley to Wycombe’s Adams Park on September 17. You can register to join him at www.prostatecanceruk.org/jeffsmarch