Pancreatic Cancer UK

Smile With Every Mile

Rebecca Askins-Gast

Rebecca Askins-Gast

My Story

I’m running the 2025 London Marathon for Pancreatic Cancer UK. In November 2021, my mom Alice was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer. We were incredibly lucky that it was caught early which has given us more precious time together as she undergoes treatments. She gives every battle her everything and this is no different.

My mom and I share a love of running, and she inspired me to run the 2023 London Marathon in her honour and in support of the wonderful work that Pancreatic Cancer UK does.  I was nervous to run my first marathon, and through my research, the best advice I found was to “smile with every mile,” thus releasing endorphins and convincing yourself into a positive feedback loop, i.e. thinking you’re having a great time running. Every mile, no matter how painful, I smiled. I told my mom about this after the marathon, and she loved this piece of advice.  Every single day since then, my mom has committed to smiling with every mile - smiling every day no matter where she is or how she feels. Some days it comes easily and other days it can feel like the most insurmountable challenge. 

So, here’s to another marathon – let’s take every mile and every day as it comes and with a smile, to remind ourselves and the people we love that none of us are ever running alone.

With Pancreatic Cancer UK as the official charity for London Marathon 2025, I am honoured to have the opportunity and the privilege to run once again, and fundraise for their important work. While pancreatic cancer is one of the deadliest forms of cancer, as a community we do have an opportunity to support critical research efforts to better understand, and better fight, this disease. 

Please take the time to better understand the symptoms of pancreatic cancer, and all other forms of this disease, to be better prepared to identify any symptoms in yourself and loved ones. Information is available on Pancreatic Cancer UK’s website. 

Thank you so much for your kind consideration and your generosity – I appreciate anything that you can give in support of this cause!

Pancreatic Cancer UK

Raising for:

Pancreatic Cancer UK
119%

Funded

  • Target
    £12K
  • Raised so far
    £14.3K
  • Number of donors
    79

My Story

I’m running the 2025 London Marathon for Pancreatic Cancer UK. In November 2021, my mom Alice was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer. We were incredibly lucky that it was caught early which has given us more precious time together as she undergoes treatments. She gives every battle her everything and this is no different.

My mom and I share a love of running, and she inspired me to run the 2023 London Marathon in her honour and in support of the wonderful work that Pancreatic Cancer UK does.  I was nervous to run my first marathon, and through my research, the best advice I found was to “smile with every mile,” thus releasing endorphins and convincing yourself into a positive feedback loop, i.e. thinking you’re having a great time running. Every mile, no matter how painful, I smiled. I told my mom about this after the marathon, and she loved this piece of advice.  Every single day since then, my mom has committed to smiling with every mile - smiling every day no matter where she is or how she feels. Some days it comes easily and other days it can feel like the most insurmountable challenge. 

So, here’s to another marathon – let’s take every mile and every day as it comes and with a smile, to remind ourselves and the people we love that none of us are ever running alone.

With Pancreatic Cancer UK as the official charity for London Marathon 2025, I am honoured to have the opportunity and the privilege to run once again, and fundraise for their important work. While pancreatic cancer is one of the deadliest forms of cancer, as a community we do have an opportunity to support critical research efforts to better understand, and better fight, this disease. 

Please take the time to better understand the symptoms of pancreatic cancer, and all other forms of this disease, to be better prepared to identify any symptoms in yourself and loved ones. Information is available on Pancreatic Cancer UK’s website. 

Thank you so much for your kind consideration and your generosity – I appreciate anything that you can give in support of this cause!