Hugo Turpin, 19, who lives near Chipping Norton, has raised more than £25,000 for rare sarcoma cancer research by running a marathon, climbing Mount Kilimanjaro and completing a three-day, 96-mile ‘ultramarathon’, all in honour of the childhood friend he has known since kindergarten.
Hugo and Olly Foster, also 19, went through prep school together from kindergarten to Year 8, and their friendship has now spanned 16 years. Their friendship has grown and become even closer after Olly’s cancer diagnosis, not once but twice.
Two diagnoses, ten years apart
Olly was first diagnosed with synovial sarcoma, a rare form of soft tissue cancer, at just 10 years old, while in Year 5. Doctors caught the tumour in his left foot early and were able to remove it successfully. Olly then had scans every six months for the first stretch of his recovery, moving to yearly checks for five years once doctors were confident the cancer would not return. He was soon back playing sport, something he had always loved.
Olly went on to Wellington College for senior school and, by his own account, was thriving. Then, in April last year, during his A-levels, the cancer returned in the same foot, more aggressively than before. This time there were two tumours. To stop them spreading further, Olly needed two rounds of intensive chemotherapy, followed by a below-knee amputation in the summer of 2025. He was just 18.
Hugo, from Whichford, describes him as ‘energetic, bubbly and kind, and honest about everything, including how he really felt’. Hugo says Olly stayed remarkably positive throughout treatment: ‘He’s so driven, so mentally tough. He was ready to take on whatever came his way. He’s a radiator, not a drain.’
Now fitted with a prosthetic leg, Olly is focused on the future. He deferred his place at university for a year to be near hospital for physiotherapy but has since been travelling in Australia and starts a degree at Newcastle University this September.
Three challenges, one cause
Hugo decided he wanted to do something for Sarcoma UK after Olly picked the charity and credited it with helping his family through both diagnoses. What started as a single idea, running a marathon with friends, grew into three major challenges completed over four weeks:
- The Stockholm Marathon in May
- Climbing Mount Kilimanjaro in Tanzania the following week
- A three-day, 96-mile ‘ultramarathon’ across England in June
The ultramarathon traced the landmarks of Hugo’s own life: starting near Oxford, running through Eton and Windsor and down the Long Walk, before finishing day two in Egham. On the final day, he headed into London, taking in Stamford Bridge, Spencer Cricket Club and Battersea Ironsides, where he and Olly played rugby and cricket as boys, before arriving at Olly’s home in Clapham. There, joined by friends and family who had gathered along the route, Olly stepped in for the final two miles, and the pair ran together across Clapham Common to where it all began: their old prep school, Eaton House The Manor.
£25,000 and counting
Hugo’s fundraising has passed £25,000, far beyond his original target. Eaton House The Manor chose his fundraiser as the beneficiary of its annual Manor Market school fair this year, contributing about £7,000 through the event and a parent newsletter appeal. Pupils and staff at Eton College, Hugo’s senior school, also got behind him: boys ran alongside him through Windsor, and a chapel service collection raised a further £300.
A video Hugo posted on Instagram explaining Olly’s story and his own challenge was viewed more than 100,000 times and was shown to pupils by his old headmaster. Hugo will also be running the London Marathon next year.
Commenting on Hugo’s fundraising, Olly said: ‘I think Hugo has gone above and beyond; he’s done something that many people would not do for Sarcoma UK. I am absolutely speechless. I seriously hope that the money raised will aid the research needed for such a rare yet damaging type of cancer so people in the future won’t have to go through what I did.’
Understanding synovial sarcoma
Synovial sarcoma is a rare form of soft tissue cancer that most often develops around joints such as the knee, ankle or elbow. It is one of the more common sarcoma types in children and young adults, although it can occur at any age. It accounts for roughly 2% of soft tissue sarcomas, with 79 cases diagnosed in England each year. Sarcoma UK is currently funding research into synovial sarcoma, including work exploring more targeted drug delivery methods for treating the disease.
Emily Williams, Research Manager at Sarcoma UK, said: ‘Olly’s story is a powerful reminder of why research into sarcoma matters so much. Right now, when synovial sarcoma comes back, doctors have very few options beyond chemotherapy and surgery, treatments that can mean, as it did for Olly, the loss of a limb. We are currently funding research by Dr Nezha Benabdallah at the University of Edinburgh, looking at the genetic drivers common to sarcomas like Olly’s. The hope is that we can find treatments that target the cancer more precisely and spare patients from such drastic surgery in future. Thanks to supporters like Hugo, we’re able to fund research like this that could change outcomes for the next generation of young people facing a diagnosis like Olly’s.’
