Blackburn and Darwen friends raise £1,500 for hospice

Dan Cooper, 40, and his friends Mark Newman and Alex Hooley, both 41, raised money for East Lancashire Hospice to say thank you for the care it provided for people close to them.

The mother of one of Dan’s wife’s best friends died prematurely of a brain disease while in her 50s, and one of his friend’s grandmothers was also cared for there.

The trio took on the Born Survivor 10k course in Gisburn last month, and all three agreed it was ‘one of the toughest things they’d ever done.’

Dan said: “It was good weather on the day, nice and sunny. It was 10km with 28 obstacles to go across.

“It took us about two-and-a-half hours but we did every obstacle successfully and never shirked one. It definitely pushed us to our limits.”

The trio completed the course in around two and a half hours (Image: Dan Cooper)

The gruelling course has been challenging people since 2013 and features more than 30 obstacles.

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.’

Dan continued: “There was one where you had to go wading through neck-high water, and one where you had to go crawling through dark holes.

“You had to climb up muddy hills and then next thing you know do a 10ft plunge into a muddy pool.

“Not one of them was easy, that’s for sure.”

Through their efforts, Dan, Mark and Alex managed to raise a massive £1,448.75 for East Lancashire Hospice.

Dan thanked people for the donations, saying: “The support from everyone was beyond our expectations.”

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.