{"id":2813,"date":"2025-05-10T13:00:00","date_gmt":"2025-05-10T13:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/curiousdrive.com\/?p=2813"},"modified":"2025-05-14T21:39:31","modified_gmt":"2025-05-14T21:39:31","slug":"we-ran-an-ultramarathon-together-but-within-months-my-friend-was-dead","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/curiousdrive.com\/index.php\/2025\/05\/10\/we-ran-an-ultramarathon-together-but-within-months-my-friend-was-dead\/","title":{"rendered":"We ran an ultramarathon together \u2013 but within months my friend was dead"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n
\n\t\t\"Jack\t<\/div>
I knew that my friend Simon (left) was in hospital with\u202fhis family in Hong Kong (Picture: Jack Wyse)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

I was\u202frunning with my friend Polly, dressed as a pair of boobs in\u202faid of CoppaFeel \u2013 to raise awareness of the risks of undetected cancer<\/a> in\u202fyoung people.  <\/p>\n

We weren\u2019t necessarily fundraising for anyone we knew, we had just wanted to do our bit.\u202f\u00a0<\/p>\n

I had run races in fancy dress<\/a> before this and felt very prepared to finish.  <\/p>\n

But not for what was to come.  <\/p>\n

At the time of starting the\u202frace, I knew that my friend Simon was in hospital with\u202fhis family in Hong Kong,\u202fhaving just been diagnosed with stage 4 lymphoma<\/a> \u202f\u2013 a blood cancer \u2013\u202f <\/strong>a\u202fmatter of days beforehand. <\/p>\n

I knew that it wasn\u2019t looking good \u2013 \u202fblood cancer is the fifth most common form of cancer and third most fatal in the UK.   <\/p>\n

By the time I crossed the finish line that morning, I had several missed calls from friends who were in Hong Kong telling me to expect the worst.\u202f  <\/p>\n

\n
\n\t\t\"Jack\t<\/div>
Simon (pictured) and I met on a dancefloor of a nightclub in Hong Kong (Picture: Jack Wyse)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

By that afternoon, we came to learn of Simon’s passing.\u202fIt was a bittersweet moment \u2013 I was surrounded by around 20,000 elated runners fundraising for causes close to their heart, and had just learned that I had lost a dear friend to cancer<\/a>, aged 31.  <\/p>\n

I couldn\u2019t believe\u202fthat Simon had passed so quickly, and sadly I\u202fwasn\u2019t\u202fable to say goodbye properly because of COVID travel restrictions.\u202f\u202f\u202f  <\/p>\n

Simon and I met on a dancefloor of a nightclub in Hong Kong on the night of his 28th birthday\u202fin 2018 and instantly found a friendship through a mutual love of\u202fBelfast DJ duo\u202fBicep, trail running and Hong Kong style BBQ pork.\u202f  <\/p>\n

\n
\n\t\t\"Jack\t<\/div>
I\u202fjust\u202fknew we had a future of laughter and fun ahead of us (Picture: Jack Wyse)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

We were young, single expats saying yes to basically everything Hong Kong had to offer. I\u202fjust\u202fknew we had a future of laughter and fun ahead of us.\u202f  <\/p>\n

18 months before Simon’s passing,<\/strong> and a few years into our friendship,\u202fwe ran our first ever ultra marathon<\/a> together, the 50km Hong Kong trail. <\/p>\n

I don’t think either of us were prepared for what was in store, but a healthy dose of ice creams, regular beer stops and a pack of Marlboro did the trick.  <\/p>\n

There’s a photo of us at the end of that run that I have on my wall at home.\u202f\u202f  <\/p>\n

\n
\n\t\t\"Jack\t<\/div>
I had moved back to the UK and was living in London (Picture: Jack Wyse)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

We were both young and believed we had endless time ahead of us, and the world at our feet.\u202fSimon in particular lived life as if tomorrow wasn\u2019t guaranteed, something I\u2019ve tried to emulate in the years since his passing.  <\/p>\n

He would constantly try new things, and his enthusiasm was infectious. We\u2019d travel to new countries, try new food and run stupidly long distances \u2013 all in the name of \u2018giving everything a go and having a laugh\u2019.  <\/p>\n

Simon didn’t do anything by halves, and that was true right up until he was admitted to hospital\u202fin spring 2022. He’d just ran a 70km all night ultra marathon<\/a>, unaided, and seemed to be in peak condition.\u202f  <\/p>\n

At the time, I had moved back to the UK and was living in London, having been unable to visit Hong Kong since I left in 2020.<\/strong> <\/p>\n

\n
\n\t\t\"Jack\t<\/div>
That’s the thing with this disease \u2013 it really can happen to anyone (Picture: Jack Wyse)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Just a few weeks later he was bed bound in hospital with misdiagnosed glandular fever, which is  common for people suffering from lymphoma.\u202f<\/strong> <\/p>\n

That’s the thing with this disease \u2013 it really can happen to anyone and can go undiagnosed so easily, with symptoms much more hidden than other types of cancer.\u202f\u202f<\/strong><\/p>\n

The most common symptom of non-Hodgkin lymphoma<\/a> is a painless swelling in a lymph node, usually in the neck, armpit or groin \u2013 many people mistake it for simple infections. <\/p>\n

He was keeping us updated with a sense of humour on WhatsApp from his hospital bed, with no visitors allowed while omicron swept through the city.\u202f  <\/p>\n

\n
\n\t\t\"Jack\t<\/div>
He was keeping us updated with a sense of humour on WhatsApp from his hospital bed (Picture: Jack Wyse)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

When\u202fSimon’s family flew in from Northern Ireland, they\u202fhad to abide by strict quarantine rules, with near zero flexibility. Simon’s mum and aunty weren’t allowed out to visit Simon until he was already unconscious in hospital, on the day of his passing.\u202f  <\/p>\n

I think that was the most difficult thing for everyone to deal with, that we lost Simon without being able to say goodbye.\u202f  <\/p>\n

Simon lived life to the full \u2013 he\u202fconstantly\u202fthrew\u202fhimself into new opportunities. He always said yes to life, and that meant he had twice as much fun in 31 years of life than some manage in a whole lifetime.\u202f  <\/p>\n

Something I believe is that when someone passes, a way of keeping them with you, is to keep their legacy alive in the way you lead your everyday life.  <\/p>\n

\n
\n\t\t\"Jack\t<\/div>
For day 1,000, a few of us ran 100km in his honour, ending at his memorial bench (pictured) in Bangor, Northern Ireland (Picture: Jack Wyse)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

One way I do this is by taking 30 minutes each day to run and think of Simon and the impact he had on us. I’ve been running 5km every day for over 1,000 days. Remembering Simon is now a daily ritual.\u202f\u202f  <\/p>\n

Simon\u2019s friends have to date fundraised a combined \u00a3100k in Simon’s name over the last few years to fund PHD research into the form of lymphoma cancer Simon passed away from, in the hope that testing, prevention and treatment can be much more effective in the future.\u202f\u202f  <\/p>\n

Since his passing, the\u202fHackney Half is now a really important annual celebration of Simon’s life for me and his friends. We\u202fare determined\u202fto run it every year in his memory, and to raise more funds for Leukemia and Lymphoma Northern Ireland in his name.\u202f  <\/p>\n

The Hackney Half 2025 will be day 1,234 of consecutive 5km runs for me. For day 1,000, a few of us ran 100km in his honour, ending at his memorial bench in Bangor, Northern Ireland.\u202f\u202f  <\/p>\n

I\u2019ve decided I’ll keep running till I can’t anymore \u2013 to me, it\u2019s as simple as that.\u202fI\u2019ll keep going until there aren’t any more stories like Simon’s.\u202f  <\/p>\n

Blood cancer takes\u202f15,000 loved ones from us each year in the UK.\u202fSo, I\u2019ll\u202fkeep running until that ends.\u202f  <\/p>\n

In Simon\u2019s name and honour. <\/p>\n

Do you have a story you\u2019d like to share? Get in touch by emailing James.Besanvalle@metro.co.uk<\/a>.\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

Share your views in the comments below.<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

I knew that my friend Simon (left) was in hospital with\u202fhis family in Hong Kong (Picture: Jack Wyse) I was\u202frunning with my friend Polly, dressed as a pair of boobs in\u202faid of CoppaFeel \u2013 to raise awareness of the risks of undetected cancer in\u202fyoung people.   We weren\u2019t necessarily fundraising for anyone we knew, we had […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2815,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[9],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/curiousdrive.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2813"}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/curiousdrive.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/curiousdrive.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/curiousdrive.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/curiousdrive.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2813"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"http:\/\/curiousdrive.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2813\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2823,"href":"http:\/\/curiousdrive.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2813\/revisions\/2823"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/curiousdrive.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2815"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/curiousdrive.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2813"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/curiousdrive.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2813"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/curiousdrive.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2813"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}