Blackburn and Darwen friends take on 10k Born Survivor race

Dan Cooper, 40, and his friends Mark Newman and Alex Hooley, both 41, will be tackling the Born Survivor 10km event in Gisburn on September 14.

The three friends, Dan from Darwen and Mark and Alex from Blackburn, are raising money for the East Lancashire Hospice after it cared for people close to them.

Dan said: “A couple of years ago my wife’s best friend, her mum died prematurely of a brain disease. She was very young, in her 50s. It came around suddenly.

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“Towards the end, she was in the care of the East Lancs Hospice and they treated her so well.

"Since then, her family have done different charitable things for them and this is just another to help support them.

“One of my friends, his wife’s nan was in there for end of life care as well and they looked after her.”

Mark Newman, Alex Hooley, and Dan Cooper (Image: Dan Cooper)

Dan said his general fitness is good through regularly playing football and going to the gym, and he has previously done the Manchester 10k a number of times.

However, this upcoming challenge is no ordinary 10k.

The Tough Mudder-style obstacle course has been challenging people since 2013 and features more than 30 obstacles along the gruelling course.

Described on its website as ‘the ultimate test of teamwork’ the course features obstacles such as ‘The Mincer’, ‘Son of a Ditch’, and ‘Rat Holes.’

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The trio are aiming to raise as much money as possible and have so far reached almost £300.

If you want to donate to their cause, visit JustGiving and search for Alex Hooley.

East Lancashire Hospice provides specialist, supportive and end-of-life care for patients and their families from Blackburn, Darwen, Hyndburn and Ribble Valley who are coping with a life-limiting illness.

It needs to raise around £4 million per year to be able to continue this work.