Friends of Nottingham attack victim run 33 mile ultra marathon in his memory

Friends of one of the Nottingham attack victims have run 33 miles in his memory, completing an ultramarathon and raising thousands of pounds in his memory.

Barnaby Webber was one of three people fatally stabbed on 13th June 2023. He was killed by Valdo Calocane whilst returning home from a night out. Grace O’Malley-Kumar and Ian Coates were also killed.

According to the BBC, Abi Brant and Freya Tyler, two of Barnaby’s friends from Taunton School in Somerset and university, ran in his memory on 3rd November 2024. They raised money for The Barnaby Webber Foundation that his family set up after the attacks in June last year.

They said they felt Barnaby was “definitely” with them as they finished the tiresome challenge.

The pair finished by running into the arms of friends and family, some of whom had joined them for parts of the run throughout the day.

via Rachel Pyke

Barnaby’s cricket team were amongst those who took part, wearing team colours of yellow and green and his number – 53 – on their t-shirts.

“We just noticed things along the way that were yellow and green or the green and yellow leaves lining the streets,” Ms Brant said. “He was definitely with us.”

On their GoFundMe page, Freya and Abi both spoke about their relationship to Barnaby. Freya said: “There’s not a say that goes by where you [Barnaby] are not in my thoughts.”

Abi went on to say she had known Barnaby since Year 3, saying: “I have such fond memories of barney and he was always ready with a friendly smile and a welcoming hug.”

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Barnaby’s parents provided a message of support for the girls with Ms Tyler say it was “emotional but it was really nice.” The event itself was very special to the girls with Freya adding “it felt like a dream.”

The target amount was initially £2,000 but they quickly surpassed this and set their target to £5,353 as a nod to Barnaby’s shirt number. By the end of the run they had managed to raise more than £4,000 for the foundation which aims to support young people and grassroots cricket.

The girls have since surpassed their target, having now raised £5,731.

You can support Abi and Freya’s fundraising here.

Featured image via Eva Bertran