The 26-year-old from Islington is running the Jungfrau Marathon in Switzerland on September 6, as homage to his friend George Clarke, who suffered a severe brain injury last year in Greece.
Ben’s Jungfrau Marathon pushes him to his limits on a 26.2 mile run climbing 6,400 feet through the Swiss Alps — one-and-a-half times the height of Ben Nevis.
His fundraiser run for George is in aid of Headway, a charity for people affected by brain injury.
George, also 26, was in a coma for two weeks after the accident and spent two-and-a-half months in hospital for physiotherapy as well as speech and language therapy.
“I came out of my coma and experienced confusion about where I was and why I was there,” George recalls.
“I had a seizure and now have to consider what people with epilepsy manage day-to-day, such as heat, hydration and other triggers.
“It’s had an impact on my short-term memory and how I handle stress or manage several tasks at once.”
Ben and George have been best of pals since they were eight years old, when they went to Northcote Lodge primary school in Wandsworth. So it was a shock when Ben heard about the accident.
Ben (left) will be taking on the Jungfrau Marathon in Switzerland for George in aid of Headway UK (Image: Headway UK)
He said: “I thought George was dead. I got a text from one of his friends from uni and thought it was a joke, then got through the whole message and realised it was real.
“But miraculously George came out with all the personality and mental brilliance he had before.
“He’s back living life, carrying an added layer of stoicism that I deeply admire.”
The Jungfrau Marathon is one of the hardest to get through, despite its picturesque Alpine location. It’s Ben’s first marathon, and he is training up to 60kms a week.
“It still doesn’t do justice to what George battles with each day,” Ben added. “That’s a far bigger challenge for him.”
George, a philosophy and politics graduate who did a Master’s degree at Imperial College London, has been making a remarkable recovery, even volunteering to help Headway UK make better use of its AI technology.
His expert input is helping the charity focus more time on its role of automating repetitive and time-consuming tasks to improve life after brain injury.
