Dave Hodgson was a mate of mine. I first met him a couple of years ago when we moved to Dubai. Soon after I met him I got to know he was diagnosed with skin cancer. He never let his head drop though and through his twitter account @Dave_Hodgson he managed to inspire countless people with his good grace and humour about a condition that was killing him.

Last July I, and another friend, met him for lunch - he told us then he had a maximum of a year to live but he wasn't going to mope around and between us present that day we started to draw up a bucketlist for him. It was a surreal lunch but one filled with laughter and mocking humour - which is how I think many will remember Dave.

Dave lived for life. He brought inspiration into our world with his battle against the cancer as he tried to eek every last day, week and addtional month so that he could spend more time with his beloved wife, daughter and his faithful dog Honey. It was all recorded on twitter - along with his ramblings on Wigan FC and musings on just about every other sport on the planet - not to mention ticking off some of his bucketlist along the way. I never saw him again after that lunch - we tried meeting up on a few occasions but he was always too weak to do so on the times we arranged. Dave died on 31 Dec 2011. He was 41.

Nicholle, my wife, and I are competing in the Abu Dhabi Triathlon on 3 March. We have to swim 750m, cycle 50km and run 5km. To some this is mind-blowing, to others it is easy. To us it is a significant challenge not least as we've had to fit in our training around our work and our fabulous boys.

Our efforts of course are nothing compared to what Dave and others in his situation have faced and so we have decided to raise money for Skin Cancer Research Fund in Dave's memory. We hope you will want to donate. If our efforts at fundraising make it easier for just one person in Dave's situation then it'll have been worth it. It will also help us keep going right to the end.

Donating through JustGiving is simple, fast and totally secure. Your details are safe with JustGiving – they’ll never sell them on or send unwanted emails. Once you donate, they’ll send your money directly to the charity and, if you're a UK taxpayer, make sure Gift Aid is reclaimed on every eligible donation. Those of you donating from Dubai or anywhere else outside the UK - you can be sure that your money is going directly to our charity too.

Thank you for supporting us and remembering Dave.