Salop supporters are familiar with the 44-year-old because he has worked at the Croud Meadow for the previous six years.
Mark used to weigh 21.5 stone, but during lockdown, he fell in love with running and lost the weight.
With the Salopian scheduled to compete in the Great North Run in September in support of Prostate Cancer UK, he now hopes to put his newly discovered pastime to greater use.
“During the first lockdown, this all started for me,” Mark remarked.
“Everyone will recall the days when you could only go for a daily stroll or workout outside of your home for an hour.
“At the time, I weighed approximately 21.5 stone, and I believed that I would take up running as a means of escaping my home.”
But I discovered very quickly that I had a running addiction.
“I’ve already completed two Shrewsbury 10ks in addition to a few others.
“And as soon as I finished them, I began considering the next task.”
Mark immediately decided he wanted to participate in the Great North Run, the largest half marathon in the world, for Prostate Cancer UK when a friend recommended it to him.
“I’m at that age where you consider getting a checkup at the doctor,” Mark went on.
However, due of the nature of the examinations, prostate cancer is simply stigmatised.
The examination’s nature is more important than the potential benefits of the findings. It’s absurd; given that tests have the potential to save lives, things simply shouldn’t be this way.
“I thought it would be a good idea to raise as much money and awareness for Prostate Cancer UK as possible if I was going to run the Great North Run for personal reasons.”
In addition, Mark works for Welfix in Shrewsbury, where the employees have already held a raffle to earn £400.
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