County Durham man to run 10 marathons in 10 months

Andrew hopes to raise £5,000 for Leukaemia & Lymphoma Research

A County Durham man has set himself the mammoth challenge of doing not only one marathon - but 10 in 10 months.

Andrew Thompson has took on the challenge in memory of his friend who passed away from Leukaemia.

His challenge will start in Manchester in March and end at the Newcastle Town Moor Marathon in November.

Not content enough with running 10 marathons - in between them he is also planning on taking part in the Great North Run in September.

The 30-year-old is taking on the 10 marathons in 10 months to raise money for blood cancer charity Leukaemia & Lymphoma Research.

The challenge is dedicated to the memory of his late school friend Chris Hills who passed away when he was just 23-years-old.

Chris was first diagnosed with acute myeloid leukaemia in 1998 and responded well to treatment.

However, the disease returned and despite undergoing a bone marrow transplant he died in 2003.

Remembering a friend

Andrew said: "It was a huge shock. I'd been travelling around the world for three years and came home to find that Chris had died.

"I'm running as a gesture in Chris' memory, to support his mum and to make something good come out of it all."

The marathon challenge will start at the Gin Pit Marathon in Manchester on Saturday 12 March.

He will then run a further nine marathons across the UK, including the Edinburgh and Nottingham marathons, finishing his challenge at the Newcastle Town Moor Marathon in November.

He also plans to take part in the Great North Run which he has run several times before.

In between the 10 marathons, Andrew hopes to run the GNR in September

Andrew isn't new to running marathons - he completed six marathons last year.

Now he wants to push himself even further with the daunting target of completing 10.

He said: "Managing my recovery will be the hard part and maintaining the fitness.

"It's going to be tough but, as a runner, you're always looking for a new challenge and I'm determined to make it.

"Improving treatment for blood cancers like leukaemia is so important."

Fundraising

Andrew is aiming to raise £5,000 for Leukaemia and Lymphoma Research.

Kate White, director of the charity, said: "We wish Andrew the very best of luck. Running just one marathon takes real commitment and determination, so running ten is an incredible challenge to take on.

"It's thanks to people like Andrew that Leukaemia and Lymphoma Research can continue investing in groundbreaking research into all blood cancers."

Leukaemia and Lymphoma Research is the only UK charity solely dedicated to research into blood cancers, including leukaemia, lymphoma and myeloma.

They say around 28,500 children, teenagers and adults in the UK are diagnosed with these cancers every year.