A North Yorkshire man has been completing a series of extreme physical events in memory of his friend.
Lee Hammond, 46, has done the Three Peaks challenge, the 'Yorkshire Warrior' assault course and an ultramarathon raising money for Kelly Simmons.
She passed away from cancer in 2021 and Lee has been raising money for Yorkshire Cancer Trust ever since.
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The 46-year-old from Thirsk said: "Kellie was a force of nature, and I want some good to come from the fundraising in her memory.
No matter how small, in some way, I want to help more people survive cancer."
Lee first met Kellie through his wife, Marie. They were best friends and Kellie was a bridesmaid at their wedding.
When Kellie was diagnosed with cancer a second time Lee and Marie decided to start fundraising.
Alongside Kellie's family and friends they chose the Three Peaks challenge to raise money for Yorkshire Cancer Research.
Lee said: "We initially wanted to do the Yorkshire Three Peaks in 2021, and Kellie was so supportive and sponsored us all.
"The climb was pushed back to 2022, so she didn’t get to see us complete it, but it was such a special day when we finally got to do it.
"Kellie’s sister and son Luca joined us, which was so heart-warming. Luca has autism and can sometimes struggle in big groups or unknown situations, so to have him with us was really special.
"We’d been aiming to complete the peaks within 12 hours.
"In the end it took us over 14 hours, but it didn’t matter because we did it together."
Lee has continued to raise money for cancer research in Kellie's memory ever since.
In 2023 he has trained for and then completed a 47-mile gruelling ultramarathon around Lake Windermere.
He added: "I quite like a challenge, and a few years ago I had surgery on my back after two decades of back problems, so I feel like I have a new lease of life.
"My friend suggested ‘the Lap’, which is an ultramarathon around Lake Windermere, and I said, ‘that’s such a bad idea – I’m in’.
"It was one of those days where you go through every emotion in one go. It was so tough but an amazing experience."
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Looking forward Lee plans to have a go at The Great North Run in September.
His wife Marie is also going to be taking part in some challenges next year.
They believe that it is important to keep raising money for cancer research and help boost awareness.
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