<p><span style="font-size: 10pt;">Thank you for taking the time to visit this JustGiving page which has been set up in memory of&nbsp;</span><strong style="font-size: 10pt;">Matthew Coates</strong><span style="font-size: 10pt;">&nbsp;by his colleagues in the Faculty of Medicine &amp; Health at the University of Leeds.</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-top: 0cm;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;">Matt passed away on Wednesday 15 December 2010 after a prolonged battle with a rare and aggressive cancer. Aged only 31 he had barely begun living his life and his best years were ahead.</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-top: 0cm;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;">To mark Matt's sad passing this team&nbsp;of elite athletes has been formed to tackle the&nbsp;<strong>Yorkshire Three Peaks</strong>, a walking&nbsp;challenge that involves scaling the peaks of Pen-y-ghent, Whernside and Ingleborough,&nbsp;covers a 24.5 miles distance&nbsp;in under 12 hours.&nbsp;The event will take place on&nbsp;<strong>Saturday 5th May</strong>.&nbsp;</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 10pt;">Matt's favourite charity was&nbsp;<a href="http://www.operationsmile.org.uk/"><span style="color: blue;">Operation Smile</span></a>, a cause&nbsp;which&nbsp;provides free surgery to repair cleft lips, cleft palates and other facial deformities for children around the globe. We would greatly appreciate any support to reach (and possibly exceed) our target of raising &pound;1000 for this cause in Matt's memory.</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 10pt;">The team of walkers includes</span><span style="font-size: 13px;">&nbsp;Vikki Crouch, Andy Pellow, Peter Muller, Anika Huggins, Kelly da Silva, Ruth Buller, Andy Cooper, Lizzie Reather, Dionne Walker, Maria Ala-Aijala, Abigail Hewitt, Lynn Bulmer, Sharon Kinsey, Sarah Pearman and Andy Kirk. F</span><span style="font-size: 10pt;">rom all involved, thank you very much!</span></p>