There's still time to join this united force and take the battle to cancer

For so many, a trip to the gym or some time spent in the fresh air is as good for the mind as it is the soul.

When Battle Cancer was created in 2017, Scott Britton wanted to create a space for people to fundraise using fitness in the best possible way.

Fast-forward seven years, and the brand has grown to a worldwide phenomenon, running ten events this year across ten cities such as Miami, Madrid, Dubai and, next weekend, Edinburgh at the Oriam, raising funds for countless charities.

Taking Battle Cancer to the next level has been the goal over the last couple of years and with statistics now suggesting that 1.2 out of every two people will receive a cancer diagnosis in their life, the need to raise funds to help fight the disease is greater than ever.

That’s what Battle Cancer is all about. In 2020, the company collaborated with Mel Spooner, who is now seven weeks into her role as Battle Cancer’s chief operating officer, to make the events more accessible for everyone, not just those who have been affected by the disease.

By bringing people together, whether it be in a sports centre, an athletics track or a stadium, to use fitness to raise funds and create a feelgood community, Battle Cancer has made functional fitness more accessible than ever before.

‘Right now, 1.2 in two people sadly receive a cancer diagnosis,’ says Spooner. ‘We know that fitness can have a huge impact on people’s lives. So if they’re recovering, it supports them with their strength. If they’re going into treatment, it supports them with their pre-hab and if they’re a family member, they maybe don’t have a diagnosis but the community helps them through it as well.

‘A big part of the event is not about staring down the barrel of the statistics. We try to use the events to celebrate what everyone can do, despite the s*** everybody is facing. A lot of people will use the event to mark the memory of people that they are close to.

‘There is often people there who are undergoing treatment or have undergone treatment or maybe missed the event the previous year due to treatment and go and compete at the events as a milestone marker to show what they can achieve. So that’s the tone of voice that we try to take at the events, rather than it be sad, by comparison.

‘The competition is for all levels. This year, the format has proven really popular. Teams have 90 minutes to hit 20,000 reps via running, biking, rowing and lifting. Each metre that they move counts as a rep and for every pound that they raise also counts as a rep.’

With the Edinburgh event just over a week away, Spooner is keen to stress that everyone is welcome to participate and help raise funds to fight a common cause. And with spectators free to attend, there is plenty of opportunities for people to go along and support just by being there.

Global brands, including Nike, Whoop and MyProtein, are already on board, lending support, and ambassadors for the company include — but are not limited to — Matt Damon, Chris and Liam Hemsworth and Niall Horan.

With so many big names on board, Battle Cancer became more than just an outlet for those looking to improve their own fitness or, indeed, get back to their level of fitness pre-treatment. It’s a community for everyone and the events they run are for everyone, irrespective of your own personal level.

‘I’ve been in commercial fitness for about 20 years now and I co-own a health content business. Four years ago, we co-created with Battle Cancer, the Battle Cancer Programme, which is a group, functional fitness workout specifically for people with cancer to use barbells, dumbbells, learn to throw them around and get stronger after treatment,’ adds Spooner.

‘Scott and Freya Britton, they’re from Manchester, Scott started fundraising for cancer using weightlifting. His background is in strength and conditioning and competitive weightlifting. He just felt early on that there was a more scaleable way to use fitness to fundraise for charity, in particular, cancer and mental health-focused charities.

‘We’re worldwide now. We’ve got ten events held around the world every year. From Paris to Dubai and Miami.

‘In the UK and Ireland, we have Edinburgh, Dublin and London, with the Edinburgh one being held at the start of July.

‘In Dublin, in June, we had around 1,300 people, and in London, which is our biggest one, we should have around 2,500 people taking part.’

Being the most recent event, Spooner reveals that just over £250,000 was raised for charity at the Dublin event, taking the total figure raised across all events to just over £6million.

With the cost of team tickets being put towards the running of the event, it’s now more important than ever that people from all walks of life can take part in the event, with many raising funds for charities local or personal to them, while also maintaining that competitive spirit.

‘In Edinburgh, we have military athletes, competitive athletes all signed up, so they might go hard on the rep count. But you might have my mum competing, who won’t hit the same reps as those people but might raise £10,000 for her chosen charity,’ says Spooner. ‘So she could still top the leaderboard and it is competitive in that sense.

‘One of the things that stands out to me is that with everyone I speak with, whether that’s a gym or the people within a team, they absolutely love the experience, the mood and the sentiment shines through.

‘The other thing that I love is inclusivity. There will be people there who are elite athletes, some just post-treatment, there will be kids there, new mums. Sometimes we have, for example, families who want to come along and compete as a team. We can scale what it is for everyone there.

‘We often say that it’s for first timers who have never done a competition before, regular gym-goers and we have military PTIs, elite athletes. Everyone is in there together, so it’s really nice.’

Tickets are still available for teams to take part in Battle Cancer event at the Oriam across the weekend of July 5/6. Purchase at https://competitioncorner.net/ events/11676/details