Kingwood boy raises more than $10,000 in memory of friend who battled cancer

KINGWOOD, TX (KTRK) -- Landon Ahrendt and Barrett Kenny were best friends from Kingwood. They always joked that they were brothers from another mother.

Landon's father, Scott Ahrendt, says, "They were inseparable from kindergarten on."

The young men ran fundraising races and even went on family vacations together. Though on Saturday, Barrett ran a color run 5K alone.

Barrett reflected on the last couple of months.

"It was not very long ago that he passed away," he said.

At this race, Barrett is doing it for Landon.

He said, "In honor of him being ten years old, I'm going to try and do ten races a year."

Landon lost his life in May. It was cancer; a cancer that only affects about 60 children a year. Landon's father says he found a bump on his son's foot.

"They told us that he had rhabdomyosarcoma, which is an extremely rare form of soft tissue cancer," said Anhrendt.

Before their devastating loss, Landon's family and friends formed the L3 Foundation. It stands for live, love, Landon.

"We wanted to do something to give back to people and help others who are fighting cancer, fighting a fight they didn't want or ask for."

Each run, Barrett is donating the money raised toward research to find a cure for pediatric brain tumors. Ahrendt considers Landon more than his son's best friend.

"The way that he honors Landon is incredible and it touches me every day. He's a part of our family," said Ahrendt.

So far, the L3 Foundation and Barrett have raised more than $10,000 for cancer research.