The arrival of November brought this year’s Prostate United campaign to a close, with Prostate Cancer UK raising awareness of their incredible cause through the month of October.
MAN v FAT member Rob Kedge was once again in the thick of the fundraising for this year’s campaign, having been a huge advocate of the charity in recent years.
We caught up with him to find out more about why he got involved again this year. You can also read more about Prostate United on Prostate Cancer UK’s website and donate to Rob’s fundraising here.
Why did you decide to get involved in Prostate United again this year?
It was a no-brainer for me. After raising over £500 doing this last year, and improving my health at the same time, I was ready and primed to join up again! This year though, I’ve boosted up my intended target distance from 150km to 300km – pleased to say I’ve smashed that target with almost a week to go!
How much have you enjoyed getting out for daily exercise and how much has it benefitted your mental and physical health?
I’m one of those people who needs to see an achievement from everything they do. By this, I mean it’s highly unlikely you will see me running around the block unless there’s a reason I had to go out!
Knowing that I have set myself a tough target to hit, and being able to track my progress (and share with the world) gives me the motivation to really push myself throughout October – the funny thing is, this year it really seems to have become a great escape for me too.
I’m awaiting an assessment for ADHD, and I have found that going for a cycle, in particular, has been brilliant for clearing my head a bit and helping me manage. A real moment of clarity for me this year!
How important is the Prostate Cancer UK message in encouraging guys to be aware of their health?
It’s huge! My Dad sadly died of prostate cancer 10 years ago so I have a vested interest, however what was most upsetting about him getting the cancer is that there was never any issue with his prostate. He got some pain in his foot which got progressively worse, and when checked out, it transpired he had a secondary cancer. I’m sure plenty of men know to look out for signs of trouble with their prostate, but it’s so important to consider that ANY pain or issues need to be investigated urgently. If my Dad had known this, I do wonder if his cancer might have been stopped or treated sooner – it might have given him at least more time.
Us men are so used to being the strong ones and not bothering doctors with anything that isn’t basically near death – we need to know that something fairly innocuous could need further investigation, so the publicity Prostate Cancer UK bring is hopefully making plenty of men take their health more seriously. They’re trying to get a screening programme in place as well – did you know prostate cancer is the only cancer in the UK which doesn’t have one at a certain age? That needs to be changed as soon as possible!
Which other physical challenges will you be looking out for in the coming months?
Oh blimey… well, my body is pretty tired after this month, so we’ll have to see what I can manage. I’m properly getting into my cycling now – I ride to and from my MAN v FAT sessions on Friday nights to save on the bus fare, as well as a couple of other player-arranged 5 / 7-a-side games during the week, but the reason I got my bike is to get to and from my day job (I’m a Probation Officer), so I think perhaps I need to look into doing that. It’s all about confidence and stamina – my office is almost 10 miles away – but from a standing start, I’m now able to do around 7 or 8 miles in one go, so I’m getting there.
The other thing I really want to get into is stuff like yoga – I’ve done bits and pieces, and the stretching really does help. It takes a little patience due to the balance aspect, but it really works well with the cardio from football!
For my next charity challenge, there’s talk of a distance walking event in Windsor in April, so I’m looking into that. I don’t enjoy running unless it’s chasing a ball or another footballer, so walking suits me fine. The internet is full of all sorts of hikes and walks and runs and what-have-you, so I’ll keep looking if that doesn’t happen. A few of us MAN v FAT guys did Mount Snowdon in August, also for Prostate Cancer UK, but I sadly had a panic attack very early on and couldn’t manage it… Two months later I feel a lot stronger, so if I keep this up I could absolutely persuaded to try again next year! We all did raise plenty of cash for the charity though.
You’re approaching 20% weight loss with MAN v FAT – how much has it transformed your life and what are your end goals on the programme?
It’s impossible to overstate the difference coming to Sunbury MAN v FAT has made to my life. I have an 11-year-old daughter who is a bundle of energy and loves her football, and I told myself I needed to improve my fitness if I was ever to a) show her how to play and b) keep up with her, so a slightly tipsy conversation in a pub with a friend led to me signing up. I literally attended my first session a week later – no queueing to get on board meant no time to chicken out!
That was the end of May 2024, so I’m nearly 18 months in. I’ve no idea how much I’ve lost exactly, but I know I’m down two clothes sizes, which is just amazing! I’m teetering on the edge of that 20% and I’m desperate to get the certificate so it can go on my wall along with the others. Losing this weight has helped so many of my health problems – my knee arthritis is much better, while the high cholesterol and blood pressure have both gone away. Even my asthma is better managed! I did have a scare last October when I had to have an angiogram due to pain in my chest when I was playing footy, but luckily no ongoing issues, and losing more weight has cleared up any problems there too.
I’m 47 now and I feel like I’ve reclaimed my life – after almost 30 years of not playing football at all (using an old knee injury as my excuse), I now hate missing any sessions with MAN v FAT – it’s so important to both my physical and mental wellbeing. The club has some great lads, I’ve made proper friends and, due to the team changes every 3 seasons, it’s not limited to half a dozen teammates either. There’s something really soothing about walking in and saying hi to everybody, everyone encouraging you to do well on the scales (but not on the pitch!), it’s like a support group!
As far as end goals, I keep having a weight in mind, but it does shift from time to time. In terms of kilos, I’m into double figures now which is great to see, but I don’t want to stop going. I know it gets harder to lose weight as you go on – the body gets used to routines and I’ve hit a couple of plateaus already – the big challenge is making the right changes to ensure things keep going in the right direction.
Our coach Ali is new to MAN v FAT but is really motivating, and he understands that mental health can dictate food intake a bit, so is happy to talk about that side of things as well. Obviously the weight loss is the big thing with MAN v FAT, but I do like to set myself little football targets as well, and for next season I want to score at least three goals and also save a penalty (I split my time on pitch and in goal). It’s not an end goal, but it’s the next step as I can’t shoot for toffee and penalties are really difficult on tiny 5-a-side pitches – I’ll see how I get on!
