Kamara to run race in aid of prostate cancer

Former footballer and campaigner Chris Kamara will run the Great North Run later this year to raise money for prostate cancer research.

The Middlesbrough-born footballer, who played for Leeds United and Bradford City in a 20-year career, will be running the 13.1-mile (21km) course alongside his son Jack and Good Morning Britain host Ben Shephard.

Since retiring from football, Kamara, who also managed Bradford from 1995-98, has been keen to highlight how prostate cancer can particularly affect black men.

According to the NHS, black men are twice as likely to be diagnosed with the disease, with about one in four in the UK expected to develop it over the course of their lives.

Prostate cancer is now the most common cancer in the UK, with about 60,000 new cases diagnosed every year, and more than 12,000 deaths annually, according to the NHS.

Kamara said meeting those affected by prostate cancer was "heartbreaking and inspirational", but an education too.

He said he was "getting the band together" as he reunited with "old mucker" Shephard for the challenge.

He said: "I think the couch we used to sit on was far more comfortable than a 13.1-mile Sunday morning run in the North East, but I know we will keep each other going – and if that fails, my son will drag us both along."

The 65-year-old was diagnosed with apraxia of speech in 2022, a neurological motor speech disorder which affects his ability to talk, adding he also has "a few problems with my balance these days".

But he insisted: "Whatever happens I'll get round."

The Great North Run has been staged since 1981, and sees participants run from the heart of Newcastle to South Shields.

Nearly 63,000 runners are expected at this year's event on 13 September.

Listen to highlights from West Yorkshire on BBC Sounds, catch up with the latest episode of Look North.