During the 2003 Everest marathon I was lucky to share a tent with a fantastic guy from Manchester. John was a top class marathon runner (sub 2.45) and had previously come in the top 100 in the Marathon des Sable. We had a great time during our time in Nepal as we had a similar sense of humour and shared interests, and have since become good friends.

John had planned to take part in Yak Attack in 2007 but had to put it on hold as he was feeling under the weather and could not train consistently without becoming tired or ill .He contacted me to say he was undergoing tests and feared it may be glandular fever.  Unfortunately after many months of tests John was diagnosed with Chronic Lymphocytic Leukaemia, which is a controllable but incurable form of cancer affecting the immune system.

Yak Attack has quickly become Nepals top mountain bike stage race. With the mighty Himalayas as a venue and an awesome 5416m pass plonked bang in the middle, this race has been labelled as one of the toughest around.