When our friends over at Tom’s Trust called, saying that they were looking to set up an event where someone would run 31 marathons, in 31 days, for 31 children with brain tumors and would we like to get involved, we could not say no.
A little about Tom’s Trust:
Cambridge based Tom’s Trust is a charity dedicated to providing critical mental health support to children with brain tumors in the UK. Established in 2011 by Andrew and Debs Whiteley following the death of their son Tom and feeling that there was almost no support during diagnosis, treatment or beyond. Tom’s Trust is there to provide essential support to not only the children with brain tumors, but the families of those children as well, giving all those affected a chance to improve their quality of life and wellbeing.
Tom’s Trust Aims & Missions:
- Our first aim is to continue to support and improve the mental health provision for children with brain tumours and their families at Addenbrooke’s Hospital, Cambridge, and The Great North Children’s Hospital, Newcastle.
- Our second aim is to identify and work with other UK hospitals.
- Our third aim is to raise awareness of children with brain tumours. Although the number of children diagnosed each year is small compared to other childhood cancers, this figure is accumulative, with every child needing psychological support from the point of diagnosis.
The Incredible 31 Stars & Camille:
So, what is The Incredible 31 Stars and how has Cambridge Support got involved? Pride of Britain nominee and Guinness World Record Holder (for running the fastest London marathon whilst carrying a household appliance, which he did with a tumble drying on his back), Ben Blowes will be running a Marathon every day in December for Tom’s Trust. With the help of individuals and businesses throughout the UK, Ben is hoping to raise £31,000 to support 31 children and their families with critical mental health support through Tom’s Trust.
£1000 will support one child and their family for a whole year, including mental health support, neuropsychological assessments, workshops, group work, parent/ sibling support, school reintegration and where appropriate, bereavement support.
So, when Tom’s Trust asked if we would like to sponsor a day, we of course said yes! On Wednesday 2nd December, Ben will be running in the Cambridge Support colours and will be running his route that day in Newmarket, all in the name of a little girl called Camille.
Camille was only two years old when she was diagnosed with an Ependymoma brain tumor in 2009. At such a young age Camille underwent two years of grueling treatment which had a devastating effect on Camille.
Now, aged 13 Camille has benefited greatly from the support of Tom’s Trust who developed an understanding of Camille’s needs and worked with her to maximise her potential and develop the skills that she needed to deal with complex and challenging situations.

We are immensely proud to be able to show our support to Camille and Tom’s Trust and in typical Cambridge Support fashion, we couldn’t help setup our own 31-Mini-Challenges event.
Cambridge Support 31-Mini-Challenges:
We are not marathon ready by any stretch of the imagination, but we are an energetic bunch and are always looking for ways to be a bit more active whilst we work from home, so what better way than to have a December Advent Calendar of activities for the whole team to try.
Kicking things off was our Managing Director and Founder Phil, who will be challenged with hopping on the spot for 31 seconds! Every day at midday another member of the team will be opening a door and completing another mini-challenge.
To follow our progress keep your eyes on our LinkedIn page where we will be sharing these with you throughout the month.
To find out more about the work of Tom’s Trust and how you can help support The Incredible 31 Stars please visit:
31 Stars: 31 marathons in 31 days | Toms Trust