A group of 17 friends are joining 55,000 runners taking part in the illustrious Paris Marathon on 8^th April 2018 in aid of Aspire. However, only six of them will be taking on the famously picturesque yet painful run. The remaining 10 will be doing their own gruelling challenge a few days prior to the marathon, when they will be cycling all the way from The London Eye to The Eiffel Tower, just in time to support the six runners tackling the 26.2 mile loop. Together the group will be running and cycling very close to 2,000 miles in memory of young schoolteacher Mike Orridge, who tragically lost his life last April.

Whilst on holiday in Spain, Mike (known to his friends as Porridge) had a freak accident whilst swimming in the sea that left him paralysed as a result of a spinal cord injury high up his neck. He was then rushed to an intensive care unit in Spain. Doctors in Seville set to stabilising Mike’s condition so that he could be airlifted back to the UK. After a few weeks things took a tragic turn when, due to a complication of his injuries, Mike suffered a brain haemorrhage and passed away.

When news of the accident first reached Mike’s friends back in the UK they immediately rallied a large group to take on a physical endurance challenge to raise money for Aspire, as the charity could provide a lot of support to Mike. Hearing the devastating news a few weeks later that their friend had died they didn’t sway in their decision to raise £10,000 for the charity. Ben Cassels, one of Mike’s closest friends commented:

“We decided undeterred to continue with our plan to run the Paris Marathon. Paris seemed a fitting venue as Mike spent a year there during his degree and always said it was one of the best years of his life.”

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