Teen footballer takes part in cancer charity run

Keanu, 17. said taking part in the challenge meant "an awful lot"

A young footballer who has recovered from leukaemia has taken part in a charity run to raise funds for the disease.

Keanu, 17, was diagnosed with the disease in 2020 while playing with the Southampton Football Academy, forcing him to put his training on hold.

On Saturday, he ran the nine mile Southampton leg of charity Cure Leukaemia's Run the Nations challenge, which is held during Blood Cancer Awareness Month.

Keanu said: "Running today means an awful lot to me and to my family especially having previously had cancer."

The larger Run the Nations challenge involves 270 miles in 14 days - the equivalent of 10 marathons - and will begin and end with a 27-mile run, serving as a reminder that every 27 seconds, somebody across the world is diagnosed with blood cancer.

James McLaughlin, chief executive of Cure Leukaemia, which is based in Birmingham, said he was motivated to take on the challenge to raise awareness and to try to raise £150,000 across the two weeks.

"If we manage to reach our target, we will be able to fund the equivalent of three leukaemia research nurses," he said.

James McLaughlin said funds are raised through "crazy challenges" and they are "vital"

Keanu said he had brought along all six members of his family because the cancer affected all of them.

He said: "It's hard to describe what the run means to me having had cancer.

"I've known people who have died from it and people who have got through it, like me. It's important that we raise funds and awareness.

"You have to support the charity, for other people to get through it and get better."

Francis Benali said he was "proud to be supporting the charity" and hoped they exceeded their fundraising target

Francis Benali, a former professional footballer in Southampton, said he really wanted to run this leg with James "especially as it's on his home patch".

He said: "I know how difficult it can be to do a multi-day challenge and what James is trying to do, is putting his body on the line to raise much needed funds.

"I wanted to be with him, to run a few miles round my home city and cheer him on to the finish line."