A young athlete will be running 18 kilometres to commemorate what would have been his childhood friend’s 18th birthday and raise funds for abandoned animals.

Tommy Wallbank, 18, is organising ‘18km for Rebecca’s 18th’ on Saturday and encouraged participants to join by running, walking or simply supporting the crowd.

Wallbank is a rising star in the running world, surpassing his personal best time one race after another and making it to the podium countless times.

Yet, his athletic career only began two years ago when he pledged to run 1km for every €5 donated to Puttinu Cares, in honour of his childhood friend, Rebecca Zammit Lupi, who died after battling cancer.

His initial goal was to raise €500 and run 100km but, in the end, he completed a 1,000km run challenge and raised €10,000 for Puttinu Cares.

“I started running in Rebecca’s honour and so I always keep her in my mind whilst I am running,” Wallbank told Times of Malta.

“I know that I would never have started running if it weren’t for her, so, every time I’m successful with my running, I know I owe it to Rebecca.”

An old photo of Tommy with his childhood friend Rebecca.

Rebecca, known to many as Becs, was only 15 years old when she passed away on January 3, 2021, after months of battling cancer.

She suffered from Ewing’s Sarcoma, a rare and extremely aggressive form of bone cancer.

Rebecca would have turned 18 on Thursday.

Wallbank said he knew Rebecca ever since they were little and grew up together at school. He described his friend as kind and caring, who saw the best in others and wanted “to make the world a better place”.

He will also be collecting donations for the Association of Abandoned Animals since Rebecca loved animals.

“I run on her birthday to continue to honour her. This is my way of keeping her memory alive and promoting the causes which were important to her.”

Tommy and Rebecca are so similar… they never give up, he is my hero

Bec’s mother, Marisa Ford, said that waking up on Rebecca’s 18 will be ‘devastatingly unimaginable’ without her enjoying what should be an exciting chapter in her life.

She said Wallbank has been there to support the family and a strong ‘lifetime bond’ of friendship has blossomed and is considered part of the family.

“He helps us through our massive loss and we support him through his passion and journey of sportsmanship,” she said.

“Despite the heat, he doesn’t take no for an answer,” she said.

“Tommy and Rebecca are so similar in this way. They never give up, he is my hero.”

The run will start at Surfside at 6.30am with the route going down to the St Julian’s Love Sign, running back to Qui-Si-Sana and turning back up until the 18km target is reached.