Harrogate headteacher completes first in trio of marathons to raise money for Blood Cancer UK

Nathan Sadler is taking on the gruelling challenge in support of father-of-three James Badger’s bid to raise £300,000 for Blood Cancer UK to fund a research project into Acute Myeloid Leukaemia (AML) which currently has a 10 per cent survival rate.

Mr Badger, whose three children were all pupils at Belmont Grosvenor School, lost his wife Philippa to the disease last year.

As Mr Badger mounted his bike to start an epic 1600km cycle ride from Lands End to John O’Groats on Sunday, Headteacher Nathan Sadler was pounding the streets of the capital in the iconic London Marathon.

Mr Sadler completed the 26 mile course in three hours and 38 minutes – but there was no time to put his feet up.

The keen runner, which was Mr Sadler’s eighth marathon, now has three weeks to recover before tackling the Rob Burrow Marathon in Leeds on 14 May, followed by the Lake Windermere marathon just seven days later.

All money that is raised is going towards supporting Mr Badger, who is cycling for eight days with a group of friends to raise money for Blood Cancer UK.

Blood Cancer UK is Belmont Grosvenor School’s charity of the year, which has so far raised thousands of pounds in Mrs Badger’s memory.

Mr Nathan Sadler said: “As a school community we want to do as much as we can to support James and his family in their fund-raising efforts in memory of Philippa.

"James is a truly inspirational man who is driven to raise the funds needed for what could be a lifechanging research project.

"All money raised on my JustGiving page will get added directly to James Badger’s fundraising pot, to help reach his target.”

On the London Marathon, Mr Sadler added: “It was a fantastic event, despite the rain coming down at various points and the atmosphere was electric with such a positive vibe all around.

“With a little bit of cramp in the final two two miles, and knowing I have two more marathons to go, I took the last part easier to avoid injury and soaked up the atmosphere.

“With a three week gap until Leeds, my focus is now on recovery and getting ready to go again.

But most importantly, I cannot thank our school community and extended friends and family enough for the donations.”

If you would like to make a donation to Blood Cancer UK, visit https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/nathan-sadler1 or https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/philippabadger