Twickenham resident Emily Swan is, by her own admission, not a keen or experienced cyclist.

But the illness of a friend she first met at a music festival in Belgium has inspired her to take up the gruelling challenge of cycling 1,000 miles across the length of Britain.

Just a year after they met, Gareth 'Gaz' Emmerson, a warehouse manager, now aged 28, was diagnosed with a little-known and rare form of bone and tissue cancer called Ewing's Sarcoma, which normally affects teenagers and young adults.

Emily, an assistant team manager at Waitrose in Richmond, told Nub News: "I met my close friend Gaz in 2013 at a music festival in Belgium. A small group of us instantly became friends and we all spent the rest of the festival having lots of fun together. This friendship was like no other as we are all still such close friends eight years down the line.

"Over the years we have been able to enjoy our shared love of music by going to a vast number of gigs and festivals making long lasting memories together. In fact, most of my treasured memories and laughs have Gaz in them! He is so much fun to be around and has a fantastically positive energy."

She added: "Gaz's outlook on life and sheer determination is absolutely inspiring.

"I feel lucky and blessed to be able to do this alongside my friend and I am truly in awe of him. We are all so extremely grateful for all the donations and support we have received so far, especially with how tough the past year has been for everybody."

Gaz will be getting in the saddle himself and setting off with Emily on the cycle from Land's End to John o' Groats across 13 days in June.

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The friends will be joined by Gaz's fiancée Zoe – they plan to marry after the challenge – as well as his father Andy and two more friends, despite none of them ever having cycled significantly before! At the time of writing they have already raised £19,275.

Emily, who is 30, added: "In 2014, Gaz was diagnosed with a little known and rare form and of cancer, Ewing's Sarcoma, and has battled it ever since.

"In November 2020 his diagnosis became terminal. Gaz wanted something positive to focus on and decided that he wanted to raise as much awareness and money for Sarcoma UK, something that is on his bucket list.

"None of us have any cycling experience. Gaz is currently training for the ride while on chemotherapy, highlighting how important this is to him and his dedication to the cause."

She added: "Sarcoma UK receives no government funding and relies solely on voluntary donations and, like other charities, has been impacted heavily by the pandemic.

"Not only do we want to raise awareness but we want to raise as much money for Sarcoma UK so they can carry on with their vital research and continue to offer support for those affected by this rare type of cancer."

Liverpool FC fan Gaz said: "I have always been fairly fit and I thought I'd just overstretched something.

"First I was recommended to go to physio, which didn't help. I left it but eventually went to the orthopaedic hospital in where they ran a load of tests and gave me a diagnosis. I had a tumour at the bottom of my back the size of two tennis balls."

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Over the past seven years, Gaz has beaten cancer three times, but each time it has returned more aggressively and spread to different parts of his body.

In November last year, he found out it was back for a fourth time, now in his lungs, lymph nodes and brain and his diagnosis became terminal.

The fundraising cycle is on his 'bucket list' as well as trips to Argentina, Brazil and China when international travel is allowed again.

As well as raising much-needed funds for Sarcoma UK he hopes his cycle challenge will raise awareness of the rare medical condition and encourage more research to help other sufferers.

You can watch an emotional video about Gaz's story at the top of this piece and donate ahead their ride on their JustGiving page.