As one of only three people from the UK to take part in the Marcialonga 70km ski race in Italy, John Despard from the Isle of Wight completed the course in just over seven hours.

Thousands of people from all over the world participated but John’s story and as to why he entered is an amazing feat in his personal battle against cancer.

John Despard (pictured), who runs Wight Coast and Country Cottages, a holiday letting agency in Bembridge on the Isle of Wight, tells all in his personal blog on the Justgiving charity website.

Although the BBC first covered this news, John’s personal blog on the Justgiving website provides readers with details of “The Red & White Appeal” his charitable cause and his own personal battle against cancer.

It’s now four years since my second Bone Marrow Transplant (first one related, second one a matched unrelated donor) and having got this far, I think it is time I did something to help other Transplant patients and Cancer sufferers get the benefit of better facilities within Southampton General Hospital. Hence my choice of “The Red & White Appeal”.

Leading up to the marathon John wrote:

You might think that going Cross Country skiing is a lovely way to raise money. However, this is no ordinary ski trip – it is a race run each year covering 70kms with some very steep stretches and will be no mean task completing within the allotted time. At the time of writing, it seems quite daunting having never done anything like this before and contrary to popular opinion, I am no pro at Cross country skiing (as some of you will have witnessed!). So this is a challenge and a half.

On the 31st January:

The big day arrived, and boy what a day. I was up at 5.30am having not slept much as you can imagine. We had to be on the bus at 7.15am to get to the start and when I got there, the scene was unbelievable. Thousands of people milling around and preparing for the race which started at 8.30 with the best people going first. We set off in groups of 500, with 6000 people in the race.

The first 20kms was up hill with some nasty steep stretches thrown in. The biggest challenge was not to get caught up in any pile ups of falling skiers. Still, I managed to fall a couple of times which put me off my stride! The next 40kms was a gentle downhill with some steep uphill stretches again. This should have been the easy part, but you had to get going or the other competitors just shot past you. The last 10kms was the hardest – so close but yet so far, with the worst bit to come. The final 3kms was virtually virtical up to a town called Cavalese. This was an almighty slog and everyone just had to doggedly marched up to the end. I’ve never been so pleased to see a finish line in my life, and thankfully, my wife Joanna was there to meet me!

The most amazing experience, particularly towards the end with crowds cheering you on. I did manage to fall over on the final straight, but by that stage, I really didn’t care!! The fastest time was 3hrs 2mins. The slowest 9hrs 50mins. I managed it in 7hrs 21mins. I could barely stand let alone walk at the end! However, I’m chuffed to bits I managed it.

Once again, a huge thank-you to all those who have supported both me and The Red & White Appeal. For anyone else wanting to donate, this site will remain open until the end of February and all donations are greatly appreciated not to mention needed.

For more images with the full story and how you can donate click here: