The friends of tragic Totnes trainee teacher Ollie Marsden, who died shockingly of a heart attack complaint aged just 21, are planning a 700-mile bike ride to raise cash in his memory.
Ollie, a keep fit enthusiast and a keen rugby player, collapsed and died suddenly during a rugby training session in Totnes in October last year.
He had been studying to become a primary school teacher along with friends Sam Blake and Martin Jarvis.
Now Sam and Martin are planning a summer marathon cycle ride from Santander in Spain to Roscoff in France, to raise money for the Cardiac Risk in the Young charity, which has been chosen by Ollie's parents.
Sam, who comes from Saltash in Plymouth, explained around a dozen students including Sam, Martin and Ollie, had been studying together, first at Exmouth and then at Plymouth for two years.
He said that Ollie's sudden death had come as a 'huge shock' to all the friends.
"No-one expected something like that. Ollie was always at the gym and he was very good at rugby," said Sam.
The pair wanted to do something in memory of Ollie and which would raise cash for his parents' charity at the same time.
Said Sam: "We are on a students' budget so we can't afford any extravagant travelling trips and we decided to do a bike ride.
"It's a fair distance and neither of us are known for our biking abilities and there is no more fitting charity than Ollie's."
Ollie was a former pupil at the Grove Primary school and King Edward VI Community College in Totnes and was in his final year of college.
He was a popular figure who had worked for two years behind the bar at the White Hart pub at Dartington.
CRY works to raise awareness of Sudden Death Syndrome and points out that hundreds of young people die unexpectedly of heart defects every year.
Sam and Martin are off on their fund raising trip on August 23, a journey which will take them across the Pyrenees.
Details of the trip and how to donate to the charity are available at http://www.justgiving.com/cyclefrance09
