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Two friends will walk from Teynham to London’s Royal Marsden Hospital in memory of their pal on the 10th anniversary of his death.
Andrea Glass and Ollie Barham, both 30, plan to trek 46 miles to raise money for the hospital, which treated their friend Andrew Tomsett.
Andrew, who lived in Teynham, near Sittingbourne, and went to Borden Grammar School, was diagnosed with Hodgkin’s lymphoma at 15 and lost his fight on March 28, 2011. He was just 20 years old.
Andrea said: “Andrew was just full of life. He got given the diagnosis and it never stopped him – he always had a smile on his face – he never saw it as a serious thing, he was always fighting.”
The mother-of-two, who lives in Bapchild, added: “He was a big Man United fan, he was into his racing as well. He was just a character and he was one of those people who just wanted to make everyone his friend.”
The sponsored walk will take place on March 28, 2021 – the 10th anniversary of Andrew’s death.
Andrea said: “We knew we wanted to do something important for Andrew, to mark the anniversary, and to raise money and awareness for the Royal Marsden - especially with what’s happening with Covid.
“We were brainstorming and came up with this idea. We didn’t realise how far it was until we started to tell people and they were like ‘you do know that’s two marathons’.
“But we have been doing lots of training for it. We’re both gym members, so we’ve been doing weight and gym training, as well as long walks. At the moment, we’re just having to go running to try and keep the fitness up.”
The duo, who had been friends with Andrew since they were at school, will set off from the Dover Castle Inn in Teynham – near to Andrew’s home.
“We’re not entirely certain on the route yet, but we will be walking mainly via the countryside, up through Dartford and round into London that way,” Andrea said.
“Andrew had to do that journey lots and lots of times, which is why we decided that would be the route we would do.”
She added: “We’re going to start in the early hours of that morning, like 3-4am and we’re hoping to finish by late evening.”
The pair have set up a GoFundMe page and hope to raise £500 for the cause. To donate, click here.
