FRIENDS, families and the Bude community gathered on Sunday to remember a special person in the town.

Talan Penny, who would have turned 20 on November 21, passed away earlier in the year due to a rare form of cancer, rhabdomyosarcoma.

In his memory and to raise money for the Chris Lucas Trust, Talan’s family and friends have set up a newly formed, soon-to-be charity, Talan’s Trust, formerly Talan’s Journey.

To kick-start fundraising, the team organised the #TAL19 event, which saw over 200 runners take part in what was a very successful day on Sunday, running, walking or jogging in teams of four, pairs or individually and covering a route that took in all of Talan’s favourite spots across Bude.

With the main event taking place mid-morning, the 1.9k family fun run gave young people the opportunity to also take part in the day’s activities.

New Talan’s Trust t-shirts were on offer at Bude Surf Club, and with the registration completed and a warm up with David Herman finished, it was time for the runners to take their places at the start line, setting off at 11.30am for the 19k run.

Talan’s mother, Sarah Penny, one of the main organisers of the event, said: “Everybody was beaming all day. It was an extraordinary day, and Talan would have been delighted. All his friends came home from uni and nearly all of them ran.

“We are very much looking forward to the next one! For a small town, I think Bude should be extremely proud of themselves.”

With a ‘wonderful atmosphere’ throughout the day, many of Talan’s friends, family and the community in Bude took part in the run. With the crowdfunding page combined, Talan’s Trust has made almost £10,000.

The charity the Trust is supporting is the Chris Lucas Trust. Chris was also a young man who lost his life to rhabdomyosarcoma, and his charity funds research into the disease and awareness of it.

Sarah and the team at Talan’s Trust were delighted when Lynn Lucas, Chris’ mother, said she would come from Newcastle to start the race.

After the race, soup and cake were dished out by the ladies in the kitchen at the surf club.

Plans are already in the pipeline for a race next year, with an aim of achieving 300 solo runners.

On the Talan’s Trust Facebook page, Sarah wrote: “You are simply incredible. I know for some of you, Talan got you through the tough parts of the race. He would have been amazed by people’s love for him, and for that I will be forever grateful.”

Results: Men’s singles — 1, Matt Gliddon, 1.17.50; 2, Jez Etherington, 1.18.41; 3, John Badrick, 1.19.20.

Ladies’ singles — 1, Hannah Astley, 1.25.54; 2, Isobel Waterhouse, 1.36.55; 3, Sam Reay, 1.41.30.

Relay — 1, Paul Kinsman, Stuart Lockyer, Jackie Lockyer, Lindsey Kinsman.

Pairs — Ed Whitefield and Tom Cunningham.

1.9k run — Hanna Jennings and Archie Whitefield.