Step Out for Yorkshire: Karen’s experience

When Karen Bond saw a post about Step Out for Yorkshire on her social media feed, she decided to set herself a challenge.

Karen’s husband, Steven, was diagnosed with kidney cancer in November 2021. He had surgery to remove the kidney and is currently receiving regular chemotherapy at Weston Park Hospital in Sheffield.

Karen explained: “I wanted to do something because I feel really helpless at the moment, I wanted to have a goal and a purpose."

Karen will be running, walking, and cycling throughout the month of May, and their 5-year-old son Edward will be bringing along his scooter. Steven will also join the family throughout their challenge.

She continued: “I’ve chosen the distance of 48 miles, which is my husband’s age, and Edward will be doing 20 miles.

“We started it on 1st May, which is also my birthday, and we kicked it off with a family walk that afternoon. It was just a few miles, but it was nice to do it together.”

The Bond family have been overwhelmed by support from friends and loved ones, who are keen to get involved themselves, from donating to arranging to join in with bike rides and walks.

Karen said: “We’re very fortunate that we’ve got a very good network of family and friends and as soon as I said we were doing the challenge we had an influx of support and donations.

“Edward knows that this will go towards medicine to help daddy, and he’s given a letter to all of his schoolfriends asking if they’ll sponsor him.”

The family initially set themselves a fundraising target of £150 but have already surpassed that to raise more than £1000.