Kent paramedic taking on the London marathon in memory of friend

23 year old, Tom Boreham from Etchinghill, Kent, has set himself the gruelling challenge of competing in the London Marathon on Sunday 28 April to raise funds for Meningitis Research Foundation (MRF).

Tom said, “I chose to run the marathon for MRF because I lost my friend John Igboanugo to meningitis. I met John when we were students at the University of Surrey and he joined the Surrey Stingers, the university’s American Football team. What struck us all first when we saw him was how athletic he was but when we got to know him we realised he was a lovable and very humble bloke. I understand he was doing very well academically.

“John unfortunately died from meningococcal meningitis (MenB) while returning from a sports tour in Italy during 2017.

“Two other students at the university also contracted MenB around the same time but survived thanks to quick treatment in hospital. All of us living in the university’s halls of residence were offered the MenB vaccine and I remember MRF being there to support everyone. 

“Anyone who knows me knows that I am not built for endurance and yet here I am preparing to run 26 miles. Training for this around work placements as a student paramedic is hard, especially the night shifts. That said, this challenge is completely dwarfed by that faced by those who are affected by meningitis and septicaemia.

“I graduated in the summer of 2017, and whilst not part of the football team anymore, I felt I had to do this in memory of John. I know his loss is still felt by the team and the university.”

If you are able to sponsor Tom to help him reach his £3,000 fundraising goal you can visit his fundraising page at: www.justgiving.com/fundraising/tomboreham.