Harrogate born stand-up comedian Maisie Adam is set to complete the London Marathon tomorrow to honour a 14-year-old boy who died from bone cancer.
Ms Adam attended the same high school as cancer patient Frank Asthon. Despite not personally knowing him, she was moved by his story and is running the marathon as the patron of Frank’s Fund. She hopes to raise funds to improve outcomes for children like Frank.
Ms Adam said:
“Since becoming a patron of Frank’s Fund, I’ve held comedy nights, raffles, appeared on charity gameshow but this will be my toughest task by a mile. I’ve never run a marathon before in my life, but at least I have the privilege to be here to do it. Frank doesn’t, so this is for him, his family, and everyone affected by this horrendous disease.”
Frank Ashton was 11 years old when he was diagnosed with Ewing sarcoma, a form of primary bone cancer, in April 2016.
His treatment involved 14 cycles of chemotherapy, two months of proton beam therapy carried out in the US, and an 8-hour operation to remove the tumour and a large section of his pelvis.
In September 2017, when Frank was five months in remission, his family received the news that the cancer had returned. Despite further treatment, Frank passed away on February 9 2019.
Frank’s mum, Louise Asthon, said:
“Although Maisie and Frank never met, we know they’d have got on like a house on fire. Comedy was one of Frank’s favourite things. From Alan Patridge and League of their Own to the Inbetweeners and Gavin and Stacey, Frank used comedy to get through some of his darkest days.
“Frank had a lively sense of humour and could always be relied on to make people laugh and keep them entertained. We are so grateful for Maisie’s support, and we know Frank would approve of Maisie being patron for the fund we set up in his memory. Good luck Maisie – we’ll be cheering for you.”
Laura Riach, head of fundraising and communications at the Bone Cancer Research Trust, said:
“We are incredibly grateful to Maisie and all of her wonderful supporters for their efforts. The funds raised will be put to good use to ensure that fewer patients like Frank suffer at the hands of this cruel disease.”
To learn more and support Maisie Adams’ marathon click here.
The London Marathon is set to take place tomorrow (April 21). The annual event first took place in 1981. The route sees runners pass London landmarks including Buckingham Palace, The Cutty Sark, Tower Bridge and Canary Wharf. With the marathon looming others in the Harrogate district are training for Sunday’s event.
‘Running for dad’: Harrogate teen runs in memory of his late father
Rafael Colman-Chadwick
Another Harrogate local raising money for a cancer charity is 18-year-old Rafael Colman-Chadwick.
His dad, Damián, was diagnosed with a rare form of brain cancer, stage 4 Glioblastoma when Rafael was ten years old and died two years later.
Rafael has had to navigate his teenage years without his father. He said, “It has certainly had its challenges. There still isn’t a day I don’t think about his death.”
Mr Colman-Chadwick now plans to run the marathon in his memory and fundraise for Brain Tumour Research.
He said:
“To lose dad at 12 has had its challenges. Describing the emotions is hard to put into words, so instead I will put these emotions into action.”
Click here to donate.
Burton Leonard woman runs for former Harrogate BID director with terminal cancer
Beth Pritchard (left) and Christine with her children and grandchildren
Beth Pritchard, from Burton Leonard, is running the marathon for Bone Cancer following her family friend’s diagnosis.
Last year Ms Pritchard ran 12 marathons in 12 months. She is taking on the challenge for her friend, Christine Armstrong, a prominent figure around Harrogate and Knaresborough. Ms Armstrong started The Met Club which she eventually sold and also ran the Harrogate BID and later the Wakefield BID.
Ms Pritchard said on the JustGiving page dedicated to Ms Armstrong:
“Christine is fighting hard and still manages to smile despite everything so I feel the least I can do is put my trainers on and run some miles for an extremely deserving cause.”
You can donate to here.
Ripon runner supporting Young Suicide Prevention
James Parkes
James Parkes, from Ripon, is the area manager for PAPYRUS Prevention of Young Suicide. He is a member of the local running club, Ripon Runners.
PAPYRUS is a charity which aids the prevention of suicide and the promotion of positive mental health and emotional wellbeing in young people.
Mr Parkes said:
“I am inspired by the many volunteers and fundraisers I meet and I wanted to challenge myself to do something both physically and mentally challenging whilst giving something back to the charity.”
Donations can be made here.
Harrogate duo run for Macmillan
Bridget Moore (left) and Amy Cresswell
Harrogate women Bridget Moore and Amy Cresswell will be running the Marathon in aid of Macmillan Cancer Support.
The pair work at Alchemy Media, Ms Moore is the founder of the organisation with her close friend Ms Creswell as a managing partner. They aim to raise £5,000 for charity and have only completed up to 10K runs in the past.
Ms Moore said:
“I wanted to do something significant for the business turning 18 and the London Marathon actually falls on our birthday, so, it feels like this was meant to be. We also wanted to raise some money for a worthwhile cause and something close to our hearts.”
You can donate to their cause here.
Samaritans of Harrogate
Samaritans are this year’s official charity partner of the London Marathon. In London there are Samaritans cheer points and emotional support hubs.
Locally the Samaritans of Harrogate will be in North Bar, Cheltenham Parade, from 12-3pm on Sunday, after the marathon. The event is part of an outreach strategy by the charity, as a standalone branch the Samaritans of Harrogate is entirely run by volunteers and they raise 100% of the funds themselves.
Samaritans of Harrogate said:
“We are inviting anyone to come along and see us who might be interested in what we do, or even to come and join us. There will be free cake and a soft drink as well as some goodies for any visitors.”
Read more:
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Harrogate woman who had stroke at 18 to run London marathon
A Harrogate woman who had a stroke when she was just 18 years old is running the London marathon to raise money to help others.
Millie Carrington was a healthy teenager when she suffered a stroke during a weekend job at a supermarket in Harrogate 10 years ago.
She had just finished A-levels at Harrogate Grammar School and did not imagine someone so young and healthy could be affected by such a serious condition. Millie said:
“I had many of the telltale signs – the right side of my face fell, I was weak down one side, I had issues speaking and understanding conversation.
“I vividly remember thinking to myself, ‘this feels like I’m having a stroke’. Yet due to my age, both those who witnessed it, as well as myself, didn’t think I was actually having a stroke. I instead put it down to a particularly bad migraine.
“It would take three more days of screaming headaches, trouble walking, problems speaking, writing and communicating, and constant sleeping before I went to a hospital where doctors diagnosed a blood clot in my brain. After many tests, they concluded that the cause was due to a previously undetected hole in my heart, which I later had surgery to close.”
Millie pictured a few months after her stroke.
Millie says she was “incredibly lucky” to make a full recovery after speech and occupational therapy, and heart surgery to fix the cause of the stroke.
In 2015 she and a friend hitchhiked from Edinburgh to Paris to raise money for the Stroke Association, which supports stroke survivors.
Read more:
Now she is attempting to raise £2,000 for the same organisation by completing the 26-mile route through the capital on April 23. She also wants to reach out to young people.
She said:
“I especially want to use this opportunity to raise awareness that a stroke can happen to anyone, of any age. I was very lucky to recover in full, but this doesn’t happen for a lot of people.
“Seeking medical attention in the first three hours often means the person receives crucial medication that gives them the best chance of survival and recovery.”
Millie has already raised nearly half of her £2,000 target. You can support her charity run here.