Customer, Liz Harper, joined our running group early in 2015, she went on to complete the London Marathon 2015 raising more than £3k so far for Cancer Research UK. Just weeks after achieving her goal, she herself was diagnosed with breast cancer at only 29 years old.
Liz tells her running story:
I have never been a ‘runner’. I would take myself out on the road or on treadmill but I never knew what I was doing. Trying to get somewhere, running way to fast, wearing the wrong shoes and then getting angry with myself for failing.
My commitment to running was never fluid. I would stop and start and then stop again, not starting again for months on end.
And then, I applied to run the London Marathon 2015 on my birthday. I got the yes I needed on the 5th of November. I picked a beginners training plan and for a month or so I was okay but I wanted more. I was getting bored on my own. For Christmas I got some money to buy some decent running trainers. My Dad said he would buy them for me as a present, as long as I went specifically to Advance Performance.
So the weekend after Christmas, I headed to the Cambridge store and I was greeted with a friendly face and got my gait check and was given some much needed advice on what to buy. I left with some shiny new Mizuno trainers, some running gloves and I also had signed up to the beginners running club. After speaking to Garry, I felt really at ease at joining and excited to be part of a group.
The running group was great, even if I was a bit too shy to admit that I was running the marathon to any of the team. Being part of the group on Mondays, made my easy run day really enjoyable. And getting face to face guidance from Garry was really valuable.
About 2.5 months before the marathon my hip would start to lock and cause a lot of pain if I ran past 6 miles. It was agony. I knew from the start of my training that wasn’t going to be running the whole way, that was never my intention. But I had wanted to run some of it. Being part of the running group taught me that it is okay if you are “slow”. It may look slow to someone else but if it is your pace, then that is your pace. I wanted to enjoy my marathon day so I decided to take a step back and take the 26.2 miles slow. I jogged and walked it. It took me 6.49 hours and by the time I finished there were only 700 other people behind me, I was tired and couldn’t feel my left leg. But I did it. All the runners who completed that day all covered the same amount of distance.
What I wouldn’t have learnt without meeting Garry and the other members of the group is this - You are the only one judging yourself. No one is noticing if you are “slow”, because they are too worried about their own pace.
I chose to do the London marathon for Cancer Research UK. I lost my Grandma to breast cancer and have seen my friends fight and win the battle with this awful disease. I had always wanted to challenge myself with exercise and fundraising and this was a cause close to my heart. Over the last 40 years, cancer survival rates in the UK have doubled. In the 1970’s just a quarter of people survived. Today that figure is half. Cancer Research’s ambition is to accelerate progress and see three quarters of cancer patients surviving the disease within the next 20 years. This requires an ambitious new agenda of research, pioneering new approaches and ultimately investment.
On the 26th of April 2015, I turned 29 and completed the London Marathon for Cancer Research UK. On June 5th 2015 I was diagnosed with Breast Cancer. In some shape or form we have all been affected by cancer, one day I hope that will change and that can only happen with research. Let’s end Cancer.
Advance Performance wishes Liz well in her journey and if you’d like to support her and make a donation her Virgin Money Giving page is still open - DONATE
Find out more about our Running Groups in Peterborough & Cambridge