A Salford student is joining forces with one of her lecturers in an inspiring mission to scale the UK’s famous three peaks to raise funds for The Christie cancer centre – and is calling on people to support her effort.
Jess Larbalestier is gearing up to tackle the 26-mile trek on Tuesday, 5 May and is looking for hikers to join her in raising money for a moving personal cause.
Jess is looking to raise money for The Christie hospital and charity, in response to the support provided to her mum, Helen, who was diagnosed with stage 4 breast cancer three years ago.
After spending time pondering over what she could do, the 20-year-old took on a skydive back in 2023, raising around £3300, and hasn’t looked back on the fundraising front ever since.
Jess explained her interest in outdoor hiking was sparked by a trip to Australia and New Zealand in 2024.
She said: “I’m quite described as an adrenaline junkie, even though I might not seem it. But when travelling, I did everything and anything I could.
“I was the type of person who despised walking. I hated hiking. But then, on one of the walks I did, it was forced, they took us on a bit of a detour, like off the path. We ended up doing a bit of a scramble, which is like a free-fall climb.
“I loved it, from that point on, I’ve been to the Lake District and Snowdonia just to see what scrambles I can do. I just love the thrill of it.”
Her mission has been channelled by the struggles she has faced across this period, and she is eager to play her part in the care of patients like her mother, who battle bravely against cancer.
Talking about her inspiration behind fundraising for her mum, Jess said: “When my mum first got diagnosed, I was very determined to try and find something to help, and at the time, I didn’t really know what I could do.
“But it was when I was in the hospital with her, and I was just walking with her, and I saw a poster, which advertised a skydive.
“And I was like, oh my God, that’s what I can do. I’ve always wanted to do a skydive. I wanted a challenge, and I wanted like a very big thing, and I just really wanted to help in some way.”
Three years and thousands of pounds later, Jess is preparing to hike each of the three peaks non-stop in May.
The Three Peaks challenge in the UK consists of a trio of infamously tricky mountain tops across Britain, Mount Snowdon in Wales, Scafell Pike in the Lake District, and the highest summit in the country, Ben Nevis in Scotland.
Inspired by Jess’s quest against cancer, her lecturer, Jimmy Ewing, has offered his support and plans to run the course of each peak in an extreme endurance test, having lost his mother to a battle with an extremely rare form of cancer, a Krukenberg tumour.
Jimmy, who took up long-distance running for the first time during a charity fun run after his mother’s diagnosis, is very keen to raise awareness and funds for the cause and is prone to taking part in charity endurance endeavours.
Jimmy said: “I raised money for Prostate Cancer UK last year and I had been looking for an event to raise money for this year when Carl Williams, one of our coworkers at MediaCity, stopped me and talked about Jess’ challenge.
“There are a lot of similarities to what I went through with my mum and so I emailed her straight away and we had a chat about what we’ve both been through. We’re both of the same mindset that raising money to help others who are going through the same thing is one of the best things you can do.”
Jess, who hails originally from Stockport, is also teaming up with student radio station Utter Radio, aiding her in putting together a large-scale charity party on Thursday, March 19, once more in aid of The Christie Cancer Hospital.
The event will be open to anyone and will donate all proceeds to the charity, along with encouraging attendees or others who have suffered from the devastations of cancer to join her on her adventure.
With possible donations and inclusions from large companies and corporations based around Salford’s Media City, Jess is more than keen to get everyone involved.
She said: “I’m beyond grateful [to everyone at The Christie]. Even with this event, I’ve got people from the Christie Charity sending me T-shirts, banners, because we’re having a party, so that’s amazing.
“They’ve done so much for me and my friends, my family, and I told a fair few people before I announced this, and some of them they’ve had a cancer experience as well.
“So that’s when I was like, why am I doing this by myself when other people have experienced this? They also want to help, but they just haven’t made any feedback. If I’m making something, why not just include them in it?”
Check out the 10 reasons to walk with Jess on Utter Radio, and take a look at her JustGiving page if you would like to donate to her cause!
A video showing ten reasons to walk with Jess is available here. You can donate to Jess’ charity effort here.
