A Nottingham Trent University student’s legacy continues to inspire remarkable efforts among friends and family as one of them prepares to undertake an unprecedented fundraising challenge. Tom Flavin, a 29-year-old friend of the late Zac Forskitt, will attempt to complete a world-first event comprising 13 skydives in a single day after running a marathon. This initiative seeks to generate funds for BacZac, a charity founded in memory of Forskitt, who lost his battle with cancer at the age of 20.
Zac Forskitt was a promising journalism student at Nottingham Trent University, diagnosed with a germ cell tumour in his chest along with an aggressive form of leukaemia. He tragically passed away in March 2016, prompting his father, Jason Forskitt, to establish BacZac. The charity's primary mission is to provide support and assistance to young adults facing similar health battles.
Tom Flavin, who shared a close friendship with Forskitt during their school years and played on the university's cricket team together, is setting a target of £10,000 to be raised through his athletic undertaking. Speaking about his preparation, he revealed, "I used to run ultramarathons years ago and then I got into skydiving about five years ago, having completed almost 400 skydives, so I thought I'd merge the two together for this challenge." His endeavour involves running a full marathon, approximately 26.2 miles, followed by a marathon of free-fall, culminating in 52.4 miles, half horizontally and half vertically.
Acknowledging the unique nature of his challenge, Flavin expressed some apprehension: “I do feel nervous because I don't think it's going to go well on the first attempt. I don't know how my body's going to react when I get on the plane after the marathon as it's a confined space and I could get cramping." He also noted that the execution of this challenge is highly dependent on favourable weather conditions.
Flavin is currently in the midst of ultramarathon training, comfortably completing runs ranging between 35-40 kilometres. He explained, “I'm doing this training as I need to be comfortable with this distance to be able to finish a marathon and get on a plane and jump out of it 13 times. Something like this has never been done before so it's hard to figure out how you can train for it."
The colossal undertaking is expected to last up to 18 hours and is tentatively set for the summer, with the first running segment planned to commence as early as 3.30am. The skydiving aspect will take place at Skydive Langar in Nottinghamshire, while the marathon will likely occur at the same location. Flavin has previously completed 10 skydives in one day, yet described this new challenge as “a logistics nightmare,” indicating that significant planning is necessary for safety and adequate aircraft availability.
Speaking to the Nottingham Post, he stated, "You have to think about how you're going to get enough planes up in the day and there's the safety side of things as well. So everything took me about a year and a half to get together." He anticipates needing to switch parachutes and board planes within a time frame of 10 to 20 minutes between jumps.
Flavin emphasised the importance of the charity in supporting young cancer patients, stating, “BacZac is a really small charity and we do events for it every single year. That money means a lot to them." He further shared his fond memories of Forskitt, reflecting on his character: “Zac was the life and soul of everything. He was a really kind, adventurous, outgoing guy. He was having a great time at university and was well loved. He was a great person."
Jason Forskitt, reflecting on the ongoing generosity shown towards the charity in his son's memory, described the outpouring of support as "fantastic," remarking on the emotional significance of the upcoming challenge. He noted, "It's pretty mind-blowing to potentially have a world first. We've always been blown away by the people who support us, and this challenge is definitely up there."
The charity, which has raised nearly £2,200 to date from 42 supporters, aims to use the funds to operate a respite lodge for young cancer patients aged between 17-24, providing accommodation free of charge, along with grants for patients. Jason concluded, "The support we've received from Zac's student mates has been amazing. We're nine years on now since losing him and they still sign up for events or come up with ideas. They've been absolutely fantastic and it certainly kept me going."
Source: Noah Wire Services