Just around the next corner…my marathon
‘If you want to run fast run alone, if you want to run far run together’. These were the words of advice I shared with hundreds of graduating students at Northumbria University when I received my honorary doctorate in 2016. It was also when I first met the remarkable Tanni Grey Thompson, Chancellor and Baroness, six times winner of the London Marathon and holder of 30 world records. Tanni has amazing presence, she oozes a generosity of spirit I have rarely experienced before, a kindliness of heart that makes you instantly want to tell her your life story.
Since then we would occasionally bump into each other in Whitehall and each time I’d introduce myself in case she’d forgotten me. Tanni must meet so many people vying for her time, yet she always took the time to chat even on cold winter nights when we were both clearly freezing. The last time we met near Downing Street I told her about my secret ambition to run the London Marathon. ‘The crowds in London are very special’ she said, ‘…and don’t start too quickly’ — advice I would only come to fully appreciate as I turned the last corner of the 26.2 mile course.
This year’s marathon was marked by record breaking temperatures. It was hot, too hot in fact. The kind of day I would normally skulk around in the garden, sipping an iced drink and taking in the buzz of bees. Not running for over 40km in direct sun, flanked by spectators in full-on carnival spirit, drinking beer and Pimms in the unseasonable heat. But this was a special day, the Marathon’s official charity is Teenage Cancer Trust, an amazing cause and a great reason to get out and run.
Thirty years ago my cancer, a rare form of Sarcoma, was quietly zapping my energy, taking hold day-by-day as it wrapped around my spine, consuming key nerves and arteries in my neck as it grew to the life-threatening size of a grapefruit. I was doing my GCSEs but couldn’t focus, I was anaemic and listless. I started taking the bus to school, even though it was only a couple of miles, and would lie on the bed sometimes unable to breathe due to exhaustion. I know what it’s like to sense my life ebbing away, so figured anything the marathon might throw at me couldn’t be worse than facing your own death.
Back in the late 1980s Teenage Cancer Trust didn’t exist, I was treated on an adult ward and had no mental health care. Fundraising for Teenage Cancer in the Sahara in 2015 I met a girl who had recently been treated on one of the trust’s specialist units. We compared scars from our blood transfusions, they looked exactly the same, our medical care might not have changed, but the wider support she spoke about was clearly transformative. In hindsight, it took five long years to mentally recover from my cancer, dark years that might have been shortened if Teenage Cancer Trust had existed back then. I was delighted to visit the University College Hospital unit to see the medical furniture and equipment I had commissioned back in 2006 at the Design Council in use along with the most creative interior design considerations. It was inspiring. But most of all, hearing from a current patient about how the staff had cared for them in new ways — including ‘ambulatory chemotherapy’ that gives patients more freedom to move. Amazing!
They say every journey begins with the first step, I managed 64,770 steps on Sunday covering 31 miles in total. More than anything, I am writing to thank all my fantastic supporters whose donations spirited me along to the finish — as Tanni predicted, the crowds were also amazing. Everyone keeps asking about my time, but my target was just to finish. And for that I am proud. As I once read ‘the person who finishes last gets the most value out of the entry fee’, I started last but finished just in time.
It was great fun and a privilege to be well enough to run and to help others. It was also incredibly emotional, I shed a tear for other runners’ causes, and kept clapping for fellow runners (forgetting this year I wasn’t a spectator!). My last mile was dedicated to Chris Martin, who inspired me to fundraise for Teenage Cancer Trust and Sarcoma UK back in 2015. Together I have raised over £10k for Teenage Cancer Trust and Sarcoma UK.
Now I have lived for 30 years since my cancer diagnosis. Thank you to Addenbrooks for giving me the opportunity to live.
