Durham man runs 10 marathons in 10 months

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Andrew’s epic feat of endurance is dedicated to the memory of school friend Chris Hills. Chris was first diagnosed with the acute myeloid leukaemia in 1998 and responded well to treatment. Sadly, the disease returned and despite undergoing a bone marrow transplant he died in 2003, aged 23.

Durham resident Andrew Thompson is taking on 10 marathons in 10 months to raise money for blood cancer charity Leukaemia & Lymphoma Research, in memory of a friend he lost to leukaemia.

Starting at the Gin Pit Marathon in Manchester last week, 30 year old Andrew's aiming to complete a further nine marathons across the UK, including the Edinburgh and Nottingham Marathons, finishing his challenge at the Newcastle Town Moor Marathon in November.

He's also planning to take part in the Great North Run, a half marathon in September.

Andrew’s epic feat of endurance is dedicated to the memory of school friend Chris Hills. Chris was first diagnosed with the acute myeloid leukaemia in 1998 and responded well to treatment. Sadly, the disease returned and despite undergoing a bone marrow transplant he died in 2003, aged 23.

Despite completing six marathons last year, Andrew admits he has set himself a daunting target

Andrew's hoping to raise £5,000 for Leukaemia & Lymphoma Research to support the charity’s groundbreaking research into better treatments and cures for all blood cancers, including leukaemia, lymphoma and myeloma. He hopes to raise a similar amount for children’s charity COCO.

Carsten Staehr, CEO at Cintra where he works, says:
"Chris’ journey has touched our hearts and we feel it is only appropriate to support Andrew in his journey. Cintra are very proud to be a part of this worthy cause by supporting Andrew in his quest to raise money for Leukaemia & Lymphoma Research."

Kate White, Director of Fundraising at Leukaemia & Lymphoma Research, told us:
"We wish Andrew the very best of luck. Running just one marathon takes real commitment and determination, so running ten is an incredible challenge to take on. It’s thanks to people like Andrew that Leukaemia & Lymphoma Research can continue investing in groundbreaking research into all blood cancers."

Andrew spoke to Anna Harding about his amazing feat

And the reason behind his huge challenge, his friend Chris Hills

He's already got one out of the 10 out of the way and tells us how he's feeling now

There's also the problem of recovering in between runs...

So what about the training? Is there a drill sergeant behind the scenes?

He also tells us more about the fundraising he's doing and who for...