Our incredible Team Sarcoma will be taking part in the Three Peaks Challenge in memory of Gaz Emmerson, in September 2023. You may or may not have known Gaz so weve included a bit about him and why he wanted to but was sadly unable to complete this challenge below. We would love as many people as possible to join us for this truly memorable experience, fundraising in memory of a guy who so selflessly spent the final 18 months of his life trying to improve the prospects of other cancer patients.

If you would like to complete the challenge in memory or in support of your own loved one, we would love to hear more about them and welcome you into the fold as we scale the UKs three biggest peaks together.

Gaz's Story :

Gareth, more commonly known as Gaz, was a one of a kind, once in a lifetime character. He was incredibly witty, infectiously good fun and such a warm, welcoming person. Gaz was a die-hard Liverpool FC fan, loved going to concerts and festivals, worked incredibly hard at everything he did and was the life and soul of any party.

Gaz was diagnosed with Ewings sarcoma in his sacrum in 2014. He underwent 9 rounds of VIDE chemotherapy and 30 sessions of radiotherapy before enjoying 2 years cancer free. In 2016, the cancer returned, this time in his lungs. Over the course of the next 6 years Gaz underwent 39 further rounds of chemotherapy, a stem cell transplant and radiotherapy to so many sites he lost count but sadly, the cancer continued to get more aggressive and spread to more metastic sites.

Involvement with Sarcoma UK :

November 2020 was a turning point for Gaz when he found out the cancer had spread to his brain and his diagnosis became terminal. He immediately decided to focus on something positive raising as much money and awareness as possible for Sarcoma UK. Gaz decided to do this by cycling 1000 miles from Lands End to John O'Groat's across 12 days in June 2021 with his then fiancé Zoe, dad Andy and four of his closest friends. He trained for bike ride whilst on chemotherapy and took a short break from treatment to complete the challenge. Team Gaz Emmerson's bike ride raised £117,000 for Sarcoma UK. Gaz and Zoe were married at the Eden Project less than two weeks later.

Gaz remained actively involved with Sarcoma UK, speaking at a number of fundraising events and in the final week of his life made the very moving gesture of asking people to buy him a pint to see him out of this world by making a donation to the charity. Gaz passed away on 5 August 2022 with his fundraising total standing at £140,000.

Gaz's legacy :

Gaz had hoped to complete the Three Peaks Challenge for Sarcoma UK in the summer of 2022 but his health did not allow for it. In September 2023, Team Gaz Emmerson and anyone else who would like to join them will be completing the challenge in his memory. Please join us for what is set to be a truly memorable and moving experience.