Latest news with #ChildrenwithCancerUK
Yahoo
29-04-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
Local runner completes London Marathon despite being unwell
An Oxfordshire runner battled through being unwell to run the London Marathon, raising more than £2,000 for charity. Alexis Tonkin of Bicester Triathlon Club ran the marathon in a time of six hours and 46.05 minutes, despite being poorly. She raised money for Children with Cancer UK. Her fundraising page can be found here: She also collected the London Classics Medal, having already completed Ride London and Swim Serpentine. READ MORE: More than 100 classic cars gather at Mini Plant to celebrate national event John Orridge, also of Bicester Triathlon Club, took part in the Oxford Aquathlon, which consists of a 400 metre swim and a 5km run. He finished in 36 minutes and 44 seconds. Stephanie Harrison, Sam Messenger and Justin Ede took part in London Myway. Mr Ede finished in three hours and 40.12 minutes - despite pushing his granddaughter in a pram for the second half of it - Mr Messenger finished in eight hours and 17.53 minutes, and Ms Harrison in nine hours and 15.16 minutes.
Daily Mirror
28-04-2025
- Entertainment
- Daily Mirror
Helen Skelton reveals reason her family didn't show up to support her at London Marathon
TV presenter Helen Skelton has revealed the real reason that her family snubbed supporting her as she completed her fourth London Marathon at the weekend in an Instagram post Helen Skelton has shared the real reason her family snubbed supporting her while running the London Marathon. The TV presenter took on the gruelling race for the forth time on Sunday as she raised money for Children with Cancer UK. She finished the intense run around the capital's streets in an impressive time of 4:32:31. Helen proudly posed with her medal after the race as she said: "Romeo Done. Thanks for the encouragement. Thanks for coming out to cheer." Despite her mega achievement, Helen later revealed she didn't have her family at the finish line waiting to celebrate with her. The former Blue Peter host addressed their absence after receiving concern from fans. In a post to her followers, she revealed that her family went to watch her footballer brother Gavin in a charity match instead. She wrote: "A lot of people asked me where my family was let's just say the battle for favourite child continues well into our 40s...." Helen then shared a photo of a football match as she shared: "Standard... whole gang went to watch the real hero in our family who casually helped raise over 4k for charity in a footy match and never went on about it. "Just got on with it. Proud sister." Helen did, however, receive the support of her celebrity pals. Strictly Come Dancing professional Dianne Buswell commented: "Legend so good to see you." Giovanna Fletcher Gemma Atkinson added: "Incredible Helen!!!" Helen wasn't the only celebrity to take part in the race as the Masked Singer host Joel Dommett had a very tricky time. He revealed he woke up in an ambulance after he collapsed while trying to complete the annual race. Ahead of the big day, Joel shared an ambitious itinerary that showed his plan to perform stand up in Leeds on Saturday night before returning to London to take part in the marathon the next morning. He planned to take on the race and complete it in less than three hours - before then enjoying an ice bath. The TV star also had plans to film a project on Sunday evening - but his day was thrown off schedule when things went wrong in the middle of the race. Fans following Joel as he made progress grew concerned when they noticed his status hadn't updated after the 15th mile. Joel later revealed that he had passed out and collapsed not long after that point and needed emergency treatment. Taking to Instagram later on Sunday, the Masked Singer host revealed he managed to complete the race despite passing out in the middle of the race. After forcing himself to complete the challenge, Joel wrote: "Not the race I expected! I fainted at mile 17 - don't really remember much but I woke up in an ambulance!" He continued: "Thanks to Frankie and Barry for being amazing. I really wanted to finish it. After a few hours my pulse was back and I got going again at a very different pace but really got to soak it all in. Proud of myself for finishing." Joel ultimately crossed the finish line in 6 hours, 3 minutes and 27 seconds.
Daily Mail
28-04-2025
- Entertainment
- Daily Mail
Paula Radcliffe reveals how a school relay race blunder helped daughter Isla come to terms with her hair loss from ovarian cancer battle at 13 - as teen follows in her mother's footsteps by completing 2025 London Marathon
Paula Radcliffe has voiced her pride for her daughter Isla's resilience and how she's bounced back following her battle with ovarian cancer battle at just 13 years old. The long-distance runner and three-time winner of the London Marathon, 51, was on the sidelines at this year's race, cheering on her 18-year-old daughter on Sunday as she crossed the finish line. Isla was running to raise money for Children with Cancer UK, a charity close to her heart, after she was diagnosed with germ cell ovarian cancer in August 2021, needing surgery and chemotherapy. Speaking on Spinning Plates with Sophie Ellis-Bextor ahead of the big race, Paula opened up on how Isla still dealt with the aftereffects of her cancer battle, despite receiving the all-clear in December 2021. She said: 'I think the biggest thing for her, is that loss of that childhood. Because at 13 you're still very much still coming to terms with so many things. And those normal teenage things, she didn't have - she was just kind of removed from those. 'She was forced to grow up and process that so much more quickly. And on the one hand she did grow up and it gave her a huge sense of maturity and balance. 'But she'd sometimes come home from school after she'd gone back and go, "Mum I don't understand why this drama is such a big thing to my friends, because it's nothing". 'So that maturity was really hard for her to process because it was almost like she'd been forced to grow up in an area that her peers still weren't there. So she was kind of alone in terms of who she would talk to and process that with.' Paula also spoke about how 'traumatic' it was when Isla's hair began falling out due to the gruelling chemotherapy. Isla previously admitted that she found that the hardest part of her treatment, previously telling The Times: 'I cried the most when I lost my hair. The chemo does not affect you much on the outside but losing my hair was a big thing.' To help her cope, her brother Raphael, now 14, would allow his sister to blow-dry his hair to compensate for not being able to style her own. Paula recalled: 'When the hair falls out it's really traumatic. I didn't understand how traumatic, it basically just matts and then you have no option but to keep cutting those knots out. 'It got to the point that Isla, who was so desperate to keep her hair, was like, "Just cut it out I can't deal with the trauma every morning".' Paula went on to explain how to recall how taking part in a relay race when she returned to school proved instrumental in helping Isla come to terms with her shorter hair. She explained: 'Isla has this competitive instinct as well. She'd gone back to sport and she was insisting she could still run with a wig. 'I think because a part of her was thinking the rest of the class doesn't realise and thinks that is her hair. But the wig came off in the middle of the relay race and she was absolutely mortified. 'But one of her friends snatched it up and took her by the hand, because she'd run indoors, and said, "You get back out and you finish running without it." 'There was all tufts of hair from the hairnet sticking off in all different directions. But from that day on she never wore the wig again'. Paula added: 'She actually carried off short hair really well, but I think she thought it was a bigger deal than it was, and in the end that being a more dramatic way to lose it was like ripping the plaster off, "Now everyone knows, let's get on with it".' The marathoner also explained how even years later Isla was still dealing with going through such a difficult ordeal, revealing that she finally took the step of getting psychiatric help in 2023, after having another cancer scare. She recalled: 'There are some times she doesn't want to talk about and doesn't want to remember and she has completely blocked those away. But I think that's okay so long as she's dealt the underlying trauma. 'That came to a head about two years after she'd had the tumour removed, when we had a scare after they saw something on the scans and we were pulled back in and she had a three-hour surgery, a laparoscopy and a caesarean, trying to find this shadow that actually wasn't there. 'And they came out saying as parents that it's good news because there's nothing there, and I thought that's great but how do I explain to my almost 16-year-old that she just had a three hour surgery for essentially nothing? 'And that was the point where she said, "I need proper psych care, I need a psychologist to talk to". 'She was really aware enough to realise the first time she went through it, she didn't have a choice and just got though it. But now this reignited all of those fears and she thought she was going back into that again. 'She was mature enough to say I need that now and that was something she couldn't just deal with us as a unit, she needed the proper care.' Despite everything she'd been through, Paula was full of pride for her daughter for how far she'd come, saying: 'To see her doing how well she's doing, I'm so proud of the journey she has taken.' Speaking about her decision to do the marathon this year, she said Isla had been determined to do her bit for charity. Paula said: 'She keeps saying to me, "Mum I'm not trying to run a really fast marathon, I just want to get around to show that I can do it. 'I want to raise money for Children with Cancer UK because I appreciate that I am the lucky one and there are kids that aren't that lucky and I want to try and make a difference there." And I really respect that'. While reflecting on her thoughts about her daughter doing the 26.2 mile trek that she had famously won herself three times, she said: 'I want her to do something I love doing and enjoy it. And I want her to say "Maybe I get it now, I get why my mum is so passionate about getting out their for her run". 'All I want is for her to finish with a smile on her face, having enjoyed it, not crying her eyes out and hating every minute of it.' Isla successfully finished the London Marathon on Sunday at 3.02pm, with Paula videoing the inspirational moment. In a clip shared to her Instagram Stories, she can be heard cheering, 'go Isla, go Isla', and captioned the video: 'when your little girl has had few finish lines - but she has her own. Well done Isla'. Paula - who competed in four Olympic Games and won gold in the World Championships in Helsinki in 2005 - previoulsy told how her most gruelling marathon was dealing with Isla's diagnosis and its aftermath over a tormenting two-year period. Isla was diagnosed during the Covid pandemic - meaning that Paula was the only member of her family who was allowed to be at her side as she fought the disease. Paula's father Peter, who had helped launch her on the road to success, died just weeks earlier aged 73 after falling sick while restrictions were in place. She said: 'I'll never forget the fear when someone tells you something is wrong with your baby. It is the scariest thing in the world.' Paula told how she took Isla to the paediatrician after she experienced a number of symptoms including chronic stomach pain, loss of breath and bleeding. She said this week: 'It then moved very quickly. On the Tuesday she visited the doctor, we had a scan on the Wednesday and one week later we were already in the hospital starting the first round of chemo.' Describing how the experience was far more challenging than any Olympic competition, Paula has spoken of her feelings of 'panic and helplessness'. She said: 'It's the hardest thing a parent can go through. You can support them and be with them the whole way through, but you can't do that chemo for them. 'It's horrible to watch your child suffering through that, but at the same time we believed that if it felt bad, it was killing the cancer.' She added: 'There are things you're not ready for - either going through it or as a parent.' Paula and husband Gary Lough, a former middle distance runner and athletics coach, moved to the south of France in 2005 and live in a village just outside Monte Carlo with Isla and son Raphael, 14. The couple met at Loughborough University and Gary helped coach Paula on the road to glory winning a series of major titles and marathons before retiring 10 years ago. Gary went on to work with Olympic legend Sir Mo Farah while Paula's most memorable victory in London saw her set a world record time of two hours, 15 minutes and 25 seconds. No woman ran faster until Brigid Kosgei of Kenya finally broke the record in 2019.
BBC News
28-04-2025
- Sport
- BBC News
London Marathon runner met by sick daughter at finish line
A woman from Cornwall who completed the London Marathon to raise money for research into childhood cancers said seeing her daughter at the finish line made "all her emotions come out".Heather Wilson, from Probus, near Truro, was competing in Sunday's event as a tribute to her eight-year-old daughter, Bonnie, who was diagnosed with osteosarcoma, an aggressive bone cancer, just before Christmas has since had chemotherapy, immunotherapy and surgery to remove part of her femur - but now has "clear test results".Miss Wilson said Bonnie, who has been using a wheelchair since her recovery, met her at several points along the 26.2 mile (42.2 km) route, and finally at the finishing line near Buckingham Palace. "It was hard and it was hot, but it was absolutely brilliant. I loved every minute of it, which I'm not sure many people can say in a marathon," Miss Wilson told BBC Radio Cornwall."The atmosphere was incredible, and I couldn't stop crying when I saw Bonnie's face at the end."All the emotions just came out, and the tears flowed for quite a while," she Wilson completed the marathon in five hours and 15 minutes, and said the crowd were a big boost to the more than 50,000 runners."They say that you almost hit a psychological wall at about mile 16, and it's really a mental challenge from that point," she explained."But the crowd were really, really good, and from mile 20 onwards, that's when you think: wow, I've just done 20 miles, and I've only got 6 more to go."Miss Wilson was raising money for the charity Children with Cancer UK.
Daily Mail
28-04-2025
- Health
- Daily Mail
Paula Radcliffe shares emotional clip of her daughter, Isla, 18, crossing the London Marathon finishing line after battling ovarian cancer age 13
Paula Radcliffe showed her support for her daughter, Isla, as she crossed the line of the London Marathon on Sunday after recovering from cancer. Isla, 18, was diagnosed with germ cell ovarian cancer at the age of 13 in August 2000, which left her needing weeks of gruelling chemotherapy. And she took part in the 26.2 mile race to raise money for Children with Cancer UK to help families going through the heartache and trauma they experienced. As the brave teenager took her final steps, proud Paula shared a clip to her Instagram Stories and zoomed in on her daughter as she finished the race at 3.02pm. Paula can be heard shouting 'go Isla, go Isla, as she wrote alongside her clip: 'when your little girl has had few finish lines - but she has her own. Well done Isla'. Paula, who will be commentating for the BBC, said earlier this week: 'It's an extremely emotional place to be anyway, when you see people turn that corner on the Mall and they realise they've done it - but when it's your little girl doing it…' She underwent during the Covid pandemic - meaning that Paula was the only member of her family who was allowed to be at her side as she fought the disease. Paula's father Peter, who had helped launch her on the road to success, died just weeks earlier aged 73 after falling sick while restrictions were in place. Paula - who competed in four Olympic Games and won gold in the World Championships in Helsinki in 2005 - told how her most gruelling marathon was dealing with Isla's diagnosis and its aftermath over a tormenting two-year period. She said: 'I'll never forget the fear when someone tells you something is wrong with your baby. It is the scariest thing in the world.' Paula told how she took Isla to the paediatrician after she experienced a number of symptoms including chronic stomach pain, loss of breath and bleeding. She said this week: 'It then moved very quickly. On the Tuesday she visited the doctor, we had a scan on the Wednesday and one week later we were already in the hospital starting the first round of chemo.' Describing how the experience was far more challenging than any Olympic competition, Paula has spoken of her feelings of 'panic and helplessness'. She said: 'It's the hardest thing a parent can go through. As the brave teenager took her final steps, proud Paula shared a clip to her Instagram Stories and zoomed in on her daughter as she finished the race at 3.02pm 'You can support them and be with them the whole way through, but you can't do that chemo for them. 'It's horrible to watch your child suffering through that, but at the same time we believed that if it felt bad, it was killing the cancer.' She added: 'There are things you're not ready for - either going through it or as a parent.' Isla's cancer is said to affect just one in 200,000 women. Paula said: 'You have it from birth and then when you hit puberty it starts to reproduce.' Isla discussed her cancer diagnosis in an interview with The Times four years ago. She told how she was initially relieved to identify what was wrong with her: I thought if we can solve this then I won't have those problems - having mood swings and being tired all the time were not normal but it meant I could make sense of them. 'I didn't want to be told they didn't know what it was or that it was normal because I didn't want to carry on with the same pain and tiredness.' Describing her treatment, Isla went on: 'I cried the most when I lost my hair 'The chemo does not affect you much on the outside but losing my hair was a big thing.' To help her cope, her brother Raphael would allow his sister to blow-dry his hair to compensate for not being able to style her own. Isla said she was grateful for the attention her mother gave her: 'Just dealing with me, just taking time and making me the priority…And my brother didn't get as much time as he normally does or my grandma. 'She was always there for me even if I snapped at her, she would not leave.' Paula and husband Gary Lough, a former middle distance runner and athletics coach, moved to the south of France in 2005 and live in a village just outside Monte Carlo with Isla and son Raphael, 14. The couple met at Loughborough University and Gary helped coach Paula on the road to glory winning a series of major titles and marathons before retiring 10 years ago. Gary went on to work with Olympic legend Sir Mo Farah while Paula's most memorable victory in London saw her set a world record time of two hours, 15 minutes and 25 seconds. No woman ran faster until Brigid Kosgei of Kenya finally broke the record in 2019. Just a year later, Isla received her devastating diagnosis. Due to Covid restrictions it was decided Paula would be with Isla in the hospital, while Gary was taking care of their son Raphael. Paula said: 'We had to pick one parent to go and we had to stick with the same parent all the way through 'There was a huge amount of mother's guilt for the fact that you have to focus more on one child for that period of time.' Isla was given the all clear but has had to have regular check-ups and underwent a scare in 2023. Paula said of concerned medics: 'They saw something on the MRIs. So they called us in and said, 'We're really sorry, we're going to have to go in and look at it because she only has one fallopian tube left and we're pretty sure it's on there'.' Isla underwent three-hour surgery before doctors revealed their concerns were unfounded. Paula said: 'That was really hard and I think, emotions-wise, that being thrown back into it was something that I struggled with because I think that was at a time where... I guess it's the emotions, isn't it? When you just feel like everything's just getting on top of you.' Now Isla has turned her attention to Isla's race on Sunday when she will be running to raise funds and awareness for Children with Cancer UK - a charity Paula has championed since her family went through their ordeal. But Paula told how she had to rein her daughter in when it came to preparing for the race - so she could concentrate on winning a place at university. She told Isla she wanted her to 'concentrate on her exams' and added: 'She's doing her final year of school ready for uni so she's under a whole lot of pressure. 'I'm OK with her just doing it to finish it and not really pushing hard.'
