The Road Back · Post 6
We’re Really Doing This
Two days after my last infusion, Andy and I went out for a run. It was a sunny Sunday morning, 6 September. We did 7.75 miles from home, through Bridport, down to West Bay and back up again. That’s more than double my first run back just four days earlier.
Somewhere on that run we stopped talking about “the idea” and started talking about the plan.
So here it is, clarified. We’re going to run from Bridport to Paris, more than 350 miles over 12 days, and finish under the Arc de Triomphe. We’re doing it for three causes. There’s the Fortuneswell Cancer Ward, Andy’s ward. There’s the Prince of Wales Renal Ward at Dorset County Hospital, mine. And there’s MIND, because the head matters as much as the legs.
April 2028. Bridport to Paris. We’re really doing this.
We set the date: April 2028. And we agreed to train hard. Not “when we get round to it”, and not “once things settle down”. Properly, from now on.
This was never going to be my story alone. Andy has been on his own road back from the Fortuneswell ward, and this challenge is his as much as it’s mine. Two blokes from Dorset, both patched up by our local hospital, both daft enough to think this is a good idea.
Strava was kind to us on the way round. There was a personal record on the Crabbers Chase segment down at West Bay, and the run finished off the September 10K challenge. The best number of the day, though, was on the scales: 95kg. That’s 12kg down from Day Zero.
Cheers, mate. I needed that.
The Road Back — Stats
Weight
95kg
Down from 96 on 4 Sep
Lost so far
12kg
From 107kg start
Longest run
7.75mi
With Andy · West Bay
Pace
9:59/mi
1:17:27 · 276ft climb
Road Back day
25
The date is set
To Paris
350+mi
April 2028
The challenge — agreed 6 Sep 2026
- Route — Bridport to the Arc de Triomphe, Paris · 350+ miles · 12 days
- When — April 2028
- Runners — James Sayers & Andy Potter
- For — Fortuneswell Cancer Ward · Prince of Wales Renal Ward, Dorset County Hospital · MIND
Tablets a day
14
8 of them steroids
Treatment — the daily rattle
- Prednisolone — 8 × 5mg a day (40mg) · steroid, repairing the immediate kidney issue
- Furosemide — 2 × 40mg (10am & 2pm) · to release the water
- Ramipril — 1 × 2.5mg · blood pressure
- Atorvastatin — 1 × 40mg · cholesterol
- Famotidine — 1 × 20mg · protects the stomach while on steroids
- Adcal-D3 — 1 × 750mg · calcium & vitamin D, protects the bones while on steroids
- Rituximab — IV infusions · the long-term repair · infusions complete (final one 4 Sep 2026)
The combination stays until everything heals. The steroids get weaned off, one tablet at a time, once the urine test sticks come back clear.
Every figure is real and dated. Early weight loss is fluid shifted with medication — the rest is earned on the road.
Nineteen months to go. Time to get to work.
— James & Andy