Malcolm Barbour and Nick Bird, both 54, have known each other for more than 30 years, and over the years, they have been heavily involved in charity runs.
In September, the two friends will be running an intense marathon to raise money for Solving Kids’ Cancer UK, a charity close to Nick’s heart.
Nick said: “My son Adam was diagnosed with neuroblastoma in 2009, and I was one of the very early parents who were involved with Solving Kids’ Cancer UK when it was right in its infancy.
“Adam died in 2013.
“So, I’ve been involved for all that time.
“I’ve been on the board of the charity since 2018, and the chair of trustees since 2018.”
For his services to childhood cancer research and family support, particularly for those affected by neuroblastoma, Nick was awarded an MBE in the 2025 New Year’s Honours.
In September, Nick and Malcolm will be running 150 miles along the London Outer Orbital Path, more commonly known as the London LOOP.
The duo will be starting and finishing at Nick’s family home in Epsom, all to raise money for Solving Kids’ Cancer UK.
Nick added: “From a cause perspective, we’re doing it to help raise money for children and families affected by neuroblastoma.
“From the challenge perspective, that comes from the lunatic that is Malcolm Barbour.”
Malcolm explained that the idea for this marathon has been in the works since 2022.
Malcolm said: “Nick and I have done loads of things over the years.
“We did quite a few running events back when to raise money for Adam when he was having treatment.
“It began small, and each time you do another event, you have to push the boat a little bit further.
“So, we got to the stage now where a mere marathon is not really enough to get people to throw money at us.
“And, so, two or three years ago, I was thinking that it’d be really great to run around the M25.”
Malcolm discovered the London LOOP after finding out he couldn’t run on the M25.
The M25 is 117 miles, whereas the London LOOP is 150 miles due to its curves.
Malcolm added: “My jaw dropped at first and I thought, ‘How difficult can it be?’
“Nick and I have done 100-mile ultras before, but this is a big step up.
“We were going to do it last year, but there wasn’t enough time to check the whole route.
“Moving it to September works well with Childhood Cancer Awareness Month, and Nick said if he could get fit by May or June, he’d be on.
“Training has gone well, and only recently did we realise we needed to tell people and start fundraising.”
Anyone can donate to Nick and Malcolm, as well as track them, through the London LOOP site.
The aim was to raise £1,500, and, as of August 28, they have raised a whopping £3,370.
Nick and Malcolm will begin the marathon at Nick’s Epsom home on Saturday, September 13, at 4am.
The aim is to be back at where they started by the evening of Sunday, September 14, or, at the very latest, early Monday morning.
With the date of the marathon approaching, Nick admitted he was feeling nervous and in a “state of semi-denial” now that it’s nearly here.
Nick and Malcolm will be running with QR codes on their backs, which will direct people to the website and track where they are.
Nick added: “One of the things with a challenge like this is the element of jeopardy.
“This is not something where we know for sure that we’re going to finish, but the last four months, I’ve trained as hard for this as I’ve trained for anything.
“So, I know I’m going to start at least in as good a shape as possible and give myself the best chance to get around.”
