Two friends are teaming up to run the Brighton Marathon for charity after being touched by the story of a four-year-old with a rare form of cancer.
Ashleigh Edwards from Kings Langley and Jack Blackburn from Bovingdon heard about Ollie Sweeney, who was diagnosed with high-risk neuroblastoma in January 2019 and has bravely fought the disease since then.
In a bid to support the High Five For Ollie campaign, named after Ollie’s love for giving out high fives, the pair are urging residents to donate as they prepare to run the Brighton Marathon.
Ashleigh said that after hearing Ollie’s story she decided she needed to do something to help.
She said: “I came across Ollie’s story through friends, word of mouth and online and it really made me want to help.
“I can’t even begin to explain, it makes me feel sick to think about what the family are going through.”
Ashleigh added that she decided to team up with Jack who started running at the end of last year, which has really helped motivate her to train.
She said: “Jack has really got into his running since November last year but I’ve never been one for fitness but I decided to go for it.
“I’ve started going on runs the last couple of weeks, maybe three or four times a week.
“I have shocked myself a bit, but I’ve still got a long way to go.”
Ashleigh is hoping to raise £2,000 to help Ollie and so far at the time of writing the JustGiving page had reached just over £800.
She said: “The family are really grateful that we are trying to help out. I’ve set the target as £2,000 but obviously if we raise more that would be amazing.”
You can donate to Ashleigh and Jack’s fundraiser here.
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