I met Sarah when I was the world’s most irresponsible Manager in my early 20s. One night, I bribed her to stay out late by changing her rota so she didn’t have to work the next day. We became thick as thieves, sharing milestones—marriage, children, and a late-in-life ADHD diagnosis… which suddenly made a lot of sense. Birds of a neurological feather flock together. Which I’m pretty sure no one but us said.nnI was visiting Sarah one weekend when I had just found out I was pregnant again. Sarah was thrilled, even as she mentioned needing to see the doctor for what she jokingly called a "bum infection." We laughed about her cowboy walk, while the doctor, out of caution, decided to run some tests.nnThe results were devastating: aggressive bowel cancer. Sarah was in her early 30s, vegan and a personal trainer. Compared to my pizza eating, sofa loving self she epitomized health! but had been feeling unusually tired. nnSarah fought fiercely and was the most beautiful badass with her bald head! She was brave, funny, and still very much Sarah in amongst it all. nBut the cancer didn’t care about any of that and spread to her liver and lungs. She was given less than a year to live. She outlived that prognosis, marrying her partner, going on holidays, and making memories. Yet, the end was hard, tiring, and scary. She wasn’t ready to leave, especially her 4-year-old daughter.nSarah managed to make it to one last Christmas. She passed away peacefully, surrounded by loved ones, between Christmas and New Year, of this year just gone. nnMy heart shattered. I struggled to function and in loosing Sarah; I lost a part of myself.nnIt took until April for me to even be able to tread water enough to pop my head out over the waves of grief. I needed something to help me through, counselling was great but I needed something I could do day to day. Even though I love the gym. I’d been running intermittently since July last year and I liked how it made the noise of the grief I carried quieter. When I first started running it was a good distraction but as continued I began to rely on it for the peace that I found. nI found joy in that movement, I found me. nnNow, I’m taking on my biggest challenge yet: running the London Marathon for Bowel Research UK.nnBowel Research UK supports not only bowel cancer research but also conditions like Colitis, IBS, Crohn’s, and Celiac disease. As an IBS girlie myself and family members with Colitis and Crohn’s. This is something I care deeply about…. And it’s a good job cus I’m about to flog myself for the next 9/10 months to train for this event.nnI've set a goal to raise £10,000. Every donation, no matter how small. Even if it’s not a life changing amount to you, you could help make a life-changing impact for someone else!nnFollow my marathon training and fundraising journey on my all socials.nnPlease give whatever you can. Together, we can make a difference.
More information about this event
Name: London Marathon 2025
Date: 27th April 2025
Fundraising target: £2500
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