The Long Road Back · Bridport to the Arc de Triomphe · April 2028
The Charities
Two wards and one cause. Every mile James and Andy run has a name behind it — someone who was treated, someone who was lost, and something that might be saved.
Charity Umbrella
Dorset County Hospital
DCH is the main fundraising umbrella. Two wards are named beneficiaries — equal in weight, equal in the story. Neither is primary. Both James and Andy pass through the hospital on the UK Day, making it a live waypoint in the campaign itself.
Fortuneswell
Cancer Ward
Dorset County Hospital
Andy Potter’s Ward
Andy’s ward. The personal connection is direct — this isn’t a charity chosen from a list. The Fortuneswell Cancer Ward at DCH has touched Andy’s life in a way that makes the miles mean something specific. Equipment-targeted fundraising: donors can see exactly what their contribution funds, and the ward can feel the outcome of every pound raised on the road.
Prince of Wales
Renal Ward
Dorset County Hospital
James Sayers’ Ward
James’s ward. The unit that treated him, the team that put him on Rituximab, the place this whole run is, in the most direct sense, a response to. Running 350+ miles to Paris because a renal ward in Dorset gave you the chance to — that’s not a metaphor. It’s the reason the route exists. Equipment-targeted fundraising means the money raised translates into something the ward can point to.
MIND
National Mental Health Charity
TOL Runners Ethos · John Foote Connection
The Long Road Back has always had a mental health thread running through it. Thinking Out Loud Runners — the community James and John Foote co-founded — is built on the belief that getting outside, moving, and talking is one of the most powerful things a person can do for their mental health. MIND is the natural partner for that belief, carried to France. John Foote has an existing route into MIND, and Ross Duncan of Open Flame Experience is an ambassador for The Burnt Chef Project — and brings existing connections to MIND Dorset.
UK Day · Bridport to Poole
The Team Runs Through DCH
On the UK Day, James and Andy pass directly through Dorset County Hospital. Both wards are waypoints on the route — the cancer ward and the renal ward, walked past on foot, on camera, on the first morning of 350+ miles. The fundraising doesn’t just reference these places. The route goes through them.
How the Money Works
Equipment-Targeted
Fundraising
Both DCH wards are raising toward specific equipment. Donors can see what their money funds — not a general pot, but a named piece of kit for a ward that needs it. The team is working with DCH’s fundraising team to define milestone targets and what each level unlocks for the ward. Final figures to be confirmed with the DCH fundraising officer once the JustGiving structure is agreed.
Every Mile
Has a Name.
James runs because a renal ward in Dorset kept him alive. Andy runs for the cancer ward at the same hospital, after his own cancer treatment there. The charities aren’t attached to this campaign — they’re the reason it exists. That’s what makes people give, and give again.
The Long Road Back
Follow the Journey
350+ miles. Bridport to the Arc de Triomphe. April 2028.