My Story

I'm finally taking on the challenge of a lifetime to run the London Marathon to raise money for the fantasic charity Pancreatic Cancer UK.

In January 2023, my dad was diagnosed with stage 4 kidney and pancreatic cancer, and just six weeks later he sadly died. He had virtually zero symptoms until a period of shingles in early December which triggered a very quick decline in his health. By the time we found out about this cruel disease, it was too late for any treatment to be offered to him. He got his official diagnosis just 5 days before his death. 

Unfortunately my dad was not alone, and lots of wonderful people loose their life to this violent, aggressive disease. Pancreatic cancer has the lowest survival of all common cancers, with five-year survival less than 7%. More than 7 in 10 people never recieve any active treatment, and more than 80% of people are diagnosed at stage 3 and 4. This cannot be acceptable, and we need to get better at spotting the early warning signs. Thanks to the work of Pancreatic Cancer UK's dedicated team of researchers, a simple test to detect the cancer earlier is within reach. It just needs more funding.

Although I have always loved running, I have never run a marathon before, and I've always dreamed of running London marathon, something which my dad achieved back in the 90s. Throughout this journey I want to raise much needed money and awareness to make an impact and wage a personal war against pancreatic cancer, and I also want to satisfy my dads wish that I eventually would run London. I'm so excited to take on this challenge but can't do it without your donations. 

I apologise in advance for all the obsessive marathon related content in the coming months and the blatent begging for your hard earned cash, but if this helps one person to get diagnosed quicker, it's worth it. 

I'm so excited to get started with training and hope to share some exciting fundraising ideas and more of my precious dad's story along the way. 

Thank you, 

Grace