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Harrogate dad-of-three set for second fundraising challenge in wife's memory

Wednesday, 10 April 2024 08:50

A Harrogate father-of-three whose wife died 36 hours after being diagnosed with Leukaemia is gearing up for his second marathon cycle challenge in a bid to hit his £300,000 fundraising target.

Last year James Badger, from Kettlesing, marked the first anniversary of his wife Philippa’s death at the age of 42 with an epic 1700km cycle ride from Lands End to John O’Groats.

That ride raised an incredible £200,000 towards his £300,000 target to fund a BloodCancerUK research project into Acute Myeloid Leukaemia (AML), the particular type of blood cancer that killed his wife and currently only has a 10 per cent survival rate. 

Now James, along with two friends, is hoping to reach his £300,000 target, and mark the second anniversary of Philippa’s death, by climbing the equivalent of Mount Everest on a bike.

James Badger’s first challenge raised £300,000 for Blood Cancer UK.

On Saturday 4th May, James will be tackling a ‘Ride to the Stars’ – cycling up the punishing Lackon Bank in Birstwith, and beyond, a total of 90 times, the equivalent of the 8900m height of the world’s tallest mountain.

For cyclists who know North Yorkshire hills, Lackon Bank is one of the toughest in the area, with a 16 per cent gradient at the start, and averaging 10 per cent on the short 1km climb. 

James, along with friends Richard Baldwin and Adam Ellis, will be starting their challenge at 4am and aim to reach the 8900m summit at around 11pm at night.

His children Isabel, 14, Alice, 12, and Thomas, aged 8, all plan to support him – but on the downhill, rather than uphill.

James said: “To mark the second anniversary I wanted to do something a bit different. Whereas our Lands End to John O’Groats challenge was very tough, it was spread over eight days and a lot of people have tackled that ride.

“Climbing the equivalent in height of Mount Everest in one day is something that not so many people have done. It is also closer to home and we’re hoping lots of people will come out and support us on the day.

“This is quite an extreme thing to attempt, and is going to definitely be a harder challenge than last year. But for me it is also very personal, as we will be cycling past Philippa’s grave at St James’ Church in Birstwith 90 times before finally reaching the highest point on earth.”

The three-year AML research project, funded by James’s fund-raising, began at Cardiff University in January, and he is hopeful to be able to raise the final £100,000 to complete the work.

James added: “Through the work of BloodCancerUK, survival rates for childhood leukaemia have improved from just 10 per cent in the 1960s and 70s to almost 85 per cent.

“Research can make a real difference and AML has not had the same level of funding and research that childhood leukaemias have had which is why it is so important for us fund this research project.”

St James Church in Birstwith will act as the ‘base station’ for the 4th May ‘Ride to the Stars’ challenge and James and his friends have already started training.

You can follow James’ progress on Instagram or donate to his campaign via JustGiving here.

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