Will Dooley is running from Liverpool to Hull over 10 days, playing a gig each day at the end of his run – and will perform in both Goole and Hull
Will Dooley, centre, with support team Tom Turney and Dave Duffy(Image: Submitted)
A Hull-born musician is undertaking a 130-mile running challenge while at the same time playing gigs every night on his route from Liverpool to Hull. Will Dooley lost his “incredible” friend David Kay at age 18 and says he suppressed a lot of emotions surrounding David’s death as a younger man. Now, 11 years on, he will run the width of the country in Will’s memory, saying he now feels strong enough to deal with the emotions that may arise.
Will’s Miles2Mic tour is raising money for the Teenage Cancer Trust in memory of David. Will, 29, says it took him a long time to be able to open up about David’s death. Not only does he hope to raise money for the charity, but also wants to address the stigma that stops a lot of men sharing their emotions when a loved one is lost.
Will, who now lives in south Manchester, said: “We lost David 11 years ago and I’d kind of buried the grief, but I always wanted to do something for teenagers dealing with cancer and something that involved music as well. We grew up together as we had met in secondary school at 11 years old. We were just thick as thieves until he passed at 18. I’ve put it away for so long there’s little outbursts of emotions, but doing this you’ve got to face it a lot more. There are moments where it totally blindsides me and the tears start falling. I’m hoping to help people along the way.”
The pair met at Cottingham High School and remained friends through their teenage years. But David’s illness took hold quickly. Will said “there were moments where he was doing really well and he looked a lot better”, but David lost his battle with cancer aged just 18. “David was incredible in all senses of the word,” Will said. “He was extremely bright and clever, really creative. He could solve problems so quickly but even physically he was strong, powerful and athletic. As a person he was so strong and disciplined and everything you would want to be as a young man. When he was getting near to the end I said ‘you’re my hero’.”
Will said the idea came after a late-night decision to run home from a gig across Manchester. “Last year I managed to get a spare ticket to see Oasis at Heaton Park,” he said. “I decided to run home to south Manchester, but I didn’t make it. When I was getting the taxi from the point where I’d admitted defeat, all the puzzle pieces fell into place. It felt like the right time to do this and I feel like I’m in a better place to deal with the emotions that are surfacing.”
Will kicked off his 130-mile challenge last Thursday, starting off in Liverpool and is running all the way to Hull over ten days, playing a gig each night along the way. He took inspiration from ultra runners, who he thought were “quite cool” but said he wanted to incorporate his musical talent into the fundraising. “Some of them are just running and I thought about running while trying to involve other things, to make it relatable. I’ve never been a runner, and I wanted to do something I didn’t like, to add that layer of challenge.”
This is where the singing comes in. Professional musician Will admits the voice is “quite a fragile thing”. “There have been so many things where I’ve lost my voice and I wanted to do something where there’s a bit of jeopardy.” He is undertaking the challenge supported by Dave Duffy and Tom Turney. “I’ve got a wonderful team with me. Dave and Tom are both incredible in their own right. It’s very much touch and go, we are not quite got the logistics down but the vibes are unreal!”
The tour features eleven shows across ten days, tracing a line east from Merseyside through Cheshire and the Pennines into Yorkshire. He will play in Goole on Thursday, August 13, at a venue that had not yet been announced. His tour will finish in Hull at Molly Mangan’s Irish Bar on Newland Avenue. Events manager Danilo at Molly Mangan’s said: “If I had a Will Dooley for seven nights a week, it would be the easiest job in the world.”
All gigs are free to attend, with collections on the night. The Goole date on 13 August is a surprise venue, which will be announced on the night and live streamed for anyone who cannot get there. He kicked off the event with a gig at Pogue Mahone in Liverpool. The final day, August 15, will see Will run from Brough to Molly Mangan’s to play his final gig.
Will said: “David was 18. He should have had decades of gigs ahead of him. Running 130 miles is nothing next to what young people going through cancer deal with every day, so every mile I run and every song I play is for him, and for every young person facing cancer right now. I’d love people to come down, have a pint, sing along and chuck something in the bucket. If you can’t make a gig, a share online genuinely helps just as much.”
Sophie Jessop Grant, senior relationship manager, at the Teenage Cancer Trust said: “We couldn’t do any of this without donations from our wonderful supporters, like Will. What he is taking on is extraordinary, and the fact he is doing it in David’s memory makes it even more meaningful. The money raised during the challenge will help us to ensure that no young person must face cancer alone.”
To donate, visit justgiving.com/page/willdooley-m2m . Or follow Will on instagram and TikTok @willdooleyofficial using the hashtag #Miles2Mic
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