Ross Burbeary, co-founder of Prostate United, reveals how a conversation in a medical room has led to more than £500,000 worth of donations to Prostate Cancer UK
Ross Burbeary pictured with former England international Viv Anderson(Image credit: Prostate United)
Every 45 minutes – just half the length of a football match – a man dies from prostate cancer in the UK.
That terrifying statistic was the inspiration behind Prostate United, a campaign which has so far helped to raise more than £500,000 for Prostate Cancer UK, the driving force in prostate cancer research in the UK.
Remarkably, a campaign which has helped save lives and raise awareness for the disease, started in 2018 as little more than a challenge set by two fitness coaches at EFL club Rotherham United, Stephen Gilpin and Ross Burbeary.
"I was in the medical room with Steve, who wanted to do something to remember his grandad who had passed away from prostate cancer," co-founder Burbeary tells FourFourTwo now. "It was coming up to October and we wondered if we could do something fitness-related – some kind of challenge.
Issue 370 of FourFourTwo magazine included a feature on football's fight against prostate cancer (Image credit: Future)
"So we started talking around the cancer and how one man dies from it every 45 minutes. We asked ourselves, 'What could we do in 45 minutes?' We thought we could run 10k. Then again the next day, all Octobber. So, in support of Prostate Cancer UK, we said we were going to raise funds by running 10k every day in under 45 minutes.
"We had some support from the manager, the coaching staff and all the players. What we found was that the challenge inspired people to talk more. Walking around like the tin man after a few days of the challenge leads to questions. So people started talking about it and sharing the idea. The following year, we went again and tried to get more people involved and more fundraising."
What started as a two-man adventure quickly grew, with Gilpin and Burbeary’s connection to football inspiring those at other clubs – from Manchester City and Liverpool to Sunday League outfits and even teams from other sports – to take part in the following October, and the one after that. Now, they're over the £500,000 and aiming to break the £1m ceiling as soon as possible.
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The money raised has helped fund research aiming to unravel the complexity of the disease, as well as funding improvements in how men are diagnosed, from simple PSA tests to cutting-edge MRI scans. The charity works to give men precise and personalised care with the right treatments at the right time, for the best chance of living the full life they want and spending more time with those they love.
Show your support
Visit prostateunited.prostatecanceruk.org and sign up to walk, run or cycle every day in October and help save men’s lives. Represent your club alongside the kit men, physios and maybe even your gaffer. Why? Because prostate cancer kills one man every 45 minutes – that’s half a football match.
Every activity you complete and every pound you raise helps fund lifesaving research into better tests and treatments to save men’s lives. So, come on – get involved! On your marks…
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Ed is a staff writer at FourFourTwo, working across the magazine and website. A German speaker, he’s been working as a football reporter in Berlin since 2015, predominantly covering the Bundesliga and Germany's national team. Favourite FFT features include an exclusive interview with Jude Bellingham following the youngster’s move to Borussia Dortmund in 2020, a history of the Berlin Derby since the fall of the Wall and a celebration of Kevin Keegan’s playing career.
