A Blackburn man is taking on an ultramarathon, a footrace longer than the traditional marathon, today (May 3), in memory of a friend who died of cancer.

James Balshaw is set to run from Blackpool Victoria Hospital to the grave of his friend, Tom Maudsley, in Darwen Cemetery, which is around 31 miles.

Darwen’s Tom died in 2020, aged 29. He had been battling leukaemia since 2019. He went into remission and went to Manchester Hospital for a stem cell transplant that would stop the cancer from returning.

Sadly, he died three months after receiving the transplant due to his body rejecting it.

James said: “Tom was a close friend. When we found out he had leukaemia we rallied around him. It looked like he was going to pull through at one point but sadly this didn’t work out that way.

Lancashire Telegraph: Tom MaudsleyTom Maudsley (Image: Rebecca Turner)

“Tom was a really nice guy and a great, funny person to be around.”

“He was a Preston FC fan which was his only downside,” James joked.

James, a former St Bede’s High School pupil, said he is looking forward to the charity run.

He said: “I have completed long-distance runs in the past and recently but this is my first ultramarathon.

“I originally planned to cycle it but I didn’t think this would have been a hard enough challenge.”

James said Tom was a close friend who would think he was “crazy” for taking on this challenge, especially as he just completed the Manchester Marathon in April.

He said: “I have always said I would do a big challenge for charity.

“I ran the Manchester Marathon on behalf of the charity but wanted to do something further as an additional challenge.

“Tom would have thought I was an idiot for doing this challenge and would laugh at the fact that I am running this. My friends have told me that the Manchester Marathon would have been enough!

“I have injured my knee while training for this so I am not aiming for a specific time – I would be happy to finish in around four-and-a-half hours.”

James will be raising funds for Blackpool Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust’s Blue Skies charity, as this is where Tom received treatment.

James has set up a JustGiving page and more than £2,600 has been raised for the charity so far.

James said: “The money I am raising will go towards a CADD pump, which allow patients to administer their own chemotherapy at home. 

"Tom didn’t have a pump when he was sick. If he did he might have been able to come home at Christmas.”

James is hoping to finish the run at around 5pm.

He isn’t the only one raising money in memory of Tom. Rebecca Turner, Tom’s sister, has has helped raise around £45,000 for Blue Skies.

She is now hoping to surpass the £50,000 mark by raffling off prizes.