A COMPUTER whizz will take on the role of 'weekend warrior' this year as he tackles about 40 fundraisers in memory of an inspirational fundraiser who died after a battle with cancer.

Sport enthusiast Will Ash has taken on the challenge of multiple marathons, muddy obstacle races and mountain climbs to raise money for cancer support charity Anthony Nolan in memory of Alice Byron, from Launton, near Bicester.

The 22-year-old, from Bicester, was a close friend of Miss Byron, who was girlfriend to his twin brother Matthew, and experienced first hand the charity's support through her fight with blood cancer.

Miss Byron, 21, died in July after being diagnosed with myelodysplastic syndrome (MDS) and later leukaemia.

During her illness she raised nearly £28,000 for the charity, and Mr Ash hopes to continue her dedication to raising awareness of bone marrow transplants.

He said: "My twin brother met Alice through work and through their relationship we became really good friends.

"It’s a bit of a complicated one but as a twin I obviously have a close empathy to my brother as well, so Alice was a very close friend of mine."

He added: "For me I have always been a physical kind of guy and always thought if I was going to raise money for charity I wanted to be able to show I really believed in it enough.

"By doing the amount I have planned I hope it shows what a worthwhile cause Anthony Nolan is."

Mr Ash, a HP field service engineer, has already raised more than £800 for the charity after taking part in dance event Strictly Bicester and winning the trophy with dance partner Katie Douglas.

From this experience, Mr Ash has continued to dance and will incorporate this into his mammoth year of fundraising challenges.

It began last weekend with the dance pair's first competitive dance competition in Blackpool and the next event on the list is Gran Canaria Marathon on January 22.

Other sports events on his list include the 50-mile Thames Trot, Olympia Marathon in Greece, Intrepid SAS-designed Obstacle Race, Tough Mudder Midlands and the Four Peaks challenge.

Mr Ash said: "My mother is generally concerned for my health but the overall feeling is ‘good on you but are you sure?’.

"I won’t let myself think about it too much, and I am not going back now."

Mr Ash ran the Guernsey Marathon last year, allowing him to enter bigger events this year.

He added: "I quickly found out I can’t run on the same night as I dance as I just turn up to training so tired, so I have worked out a programme of one night at the gym and then dancing, then the next day running."

Mr Ash has support from many of Miss Byron's friends and family, plus those who followed her journey on her blog.

Bicester Leisure Centre has also sponsored his efforts and is supporting him through his training.

On Mr Ash's web page he writes: "In July I lost someone to Leukaemia who I considered a close friend and inspiration. This year I wanted to what I can, for a charity who did everything for her."

He continued: "Experiencing the suffering cancer causes first hand has motivated me to push myself to my limits, as I believe it will still be barely a fraction of the suffering people like Alice endure without choice."

Mr Ash will be blogging his progress and funds can be donated through williamash.co.uk