A RUNNER overcame her injury woes during a marathon effort to raise money for a young woman living with terminal cancer.

Wivenhoe runner Lydia Callan took on the Brighton Marathon to raise money for Monique Buckingham who is battling advanced bowel cancer.

Monique, from Colchester, was just 21 when she was diagnosed with cancer in 2017.

Now 26, she has endured at least 92 cycles of chemotherapy and has seen her cancer spread all over her abdominal cavity including her uterus, womb and ovaries.

At the end of last year she was told her condition is too far advanced to benefit from any further trials in the UK and was placed on an end-of-life care programme with a terminal diagnosis.

After hearing this in an article published by the Gazette in February, Colchester Harriers Running Club member Lydia was inspired to try to raise money to help Monique.

 

Marathon effort - Lydia Callan was inspired to help Monique Buckingham, who is living with terminal cancer

Marathon effort - Lydia Callan was inspired to help Monique Buckingham, who is living with terminal cancer

 

However, a training injury almost scuppered her place on the starting line.

Just six weeks before the race, Lydia stumbled during a routine training run and was forced to rest and allow time for her painful leg injury to heal.

She said: “So close to the event I couldn’t even walk properly, let alone run, which affected me both physically and mentally.

“This meant I entered the race having only reached 18 miles when I was able to train properly again.

“However, on the day everything went better than I ever could have imagined and my immediate pre-race preparations put me right back on track.

“I actually achieved my personal best marathon performance ever by 15 minutes, with a personal best time of three hours 35 minutes.

“So far I have raised about £800 for Monique’s GoFundMe appeal and I hope this amount will help towards getting her the right overseas treatment that she needs at the moment.”

Lydia added the atmosphere at the marathon was “fantastic” and the family support she received both leading up to the marathon and during her training was “absolutely priceless”.

So far, almost £80,000 has been raised towards Monique’s £200,000 goal. You can donate via www.gofundme.com/f/thelifeofmique.