A man is preparing for a tough charity trek up one of the world’s highest mountains in memory of his Bury-born dad who died from cancer.
Howard Susman, a Bacup-based relationship manager at credit insurance company Allianz Trade, is all set to scale Mount Kilimanjaro in September to raise funds for Macmillan Cancer Support.
The 34-year-old was inspired to tackle Kilimanjaro, the world’s tallest freestanding mountain, in memory of his dad Lawrence "Lol" Susman.
Bury-born Lol worked in ladies fashion in Manchester, and then later as a taxi driver in in town, before he died from bowel cancer in 2016.
Howard will endure altitude sickness, extreme weather conditions and tough terrain, when he takes on Africa’s highest mountain, which stands at 5.895 metres (19,341ft) tall.
It is expected to take him five days to reach the peak, where he will spend just 15 minutes soaking up the summit, before a further two days to descend.
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Howard has already raised £5,288 and is well on his way to smashing his £6,000 fundraising target, which will help other families affected by cancer.
Howard said: “I will take on the toughest challenge of my life so far when I climb Mount Kilimanjaro.
"I am really excited and looking forward to this amazing experience, but also a little nervous about the incredible challenge ahead, which is not something to be taken lightly.
“I’m doing it for Macmillan Cancer Support, who do incredible life-changing work for all those affected by this terrible disease, and I dedicate this trip to my late father, who sadly lost his life to cancer in 2016, and all those who have lost their lives to this illness.”
Howard, who has shed two stone since he started a keep fit regime last year, has been busy training for his Kilimanjaro challenge, by regularly walking through the Rossendale Valley at weekends.
He has also recently scaling Scafell Pike in the Lake District and completed the Yorkshire Three Peaks.
Howard has previously pushed himself to complete the 100km Cotswold Way Ultra Challenge in 2017, along with his sister Sara, to raise £1.7k for Cancer Research UK.
And he has already booked his next African adventure, a surfing, trekking and trail running trip in Morocco next year.
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He added: “I think my dad would be really proud of me. I was always more into football when I was younger, and I’ve never really been that interested in doing anything too adventurous.
“We didn’t even go camping when we were kids! But I’ve gone through a bit of a reincarnation since my dad passed away.
"Life is so unpredictable that I now think ‘life is for living’ and I want exciting things to look forward to.
“My motivation for climbing Kilimanjaro came from a need to challenge myself and have something to work towards. I wanted to achieve a goal I could look back on in years to come and be really proud of.
"I've always admired the amazing work Macmillan do and I'm incredibly proud to be able to contribute and hopefully change some lives along the way.”
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