In February, I lost one of my best friends to cancer.

Luna and I had hitchhiked across continents, visited unrecognised states, gutted entire restaurant menus, partied from sunrise until sunset and ran, swam, cycled, dined and drank the world over.

Watching one of the most resilient, intelligent, headstrong and nonchalant people I knew strain every last drop and sinew to fight cancer was both devastating and numbing. There are no other words I can use to describe it.

However, one of the last challenges Luna did before her diagnosis was to do the 2023 Estonia Ironman, which she completed in 13 hours - a substantial feat for anyone, but especially someone who could barely swim and whose diet consisted entirely of Nutella, Percy Pigs, pasta, Prosecco and dumplings.

Luna's ability to balance her numerous science degrees with her thirst for physical exertion was a huge inspiration for my sister's pursuit of studying medicine. My sister, Barbora Formanko, and Luna grew close following her diagnosis, and endurance sports were replaced by fiercely competitive Mario Kart battles whenever Barbora was able to abscond from lectures to visit her.

So, it is only appropriate that Barbora and I take on the same Ironman race in August 2025 to honour Luna's memory.

We are fundraising for both Macmillan Cancer Support and Maggie's, two charities that Luna wanted to raise money for following her treatment.

Thank you Luna, we miss you <3