I never thought I would be saying this, but on April 23rd this year I will be running my 5th London Marathon. However this time I will be running it as a transtibial runner having had my right leg amputated due to a rare bone cancer called ‘Ewing's Sarcoma in 2016.

Given the rarity of this cancer (it is typically found in children whose bones are developing and is often mistaken for growing pains), I feel it important to generate awareness as to what ‘Sarcomas’ are, and furthermore help those that are suffering by raising funds to support a small, but hugely impactful ‘Sarcoma Team’ made up of oncologists, practitioners, researchers and carers at UCLH (University College London Hospitals).

When I was diagnosed in September 2015 I had already run four London Marathons and I was always keen to run that fifth marathon and probably call it a day thereafter. Little did I know what was in store for my family as we embarked on a horrific journey of scans, tests, hospital appointments, diagnosis, a year's worth of chemotherapy and a below knee amputation. Couple that with a very young family at the time; a 2 year old, a 1 year old and a pregnant wife, who subsequently gave birth to our third child 2 weeks before I lost my leg in February 2016. If that is not enough a major home renovation added to the chaos. Post all treatment and something that I was naive to was the mental challenge in rebuilding my life, our life as a couple and as a family. Without question those were the toughest years of my life leading up to 2020. The positives are we came through the other side, notably with a few scars, tales and war stories and I cannot thank all those that supported us enough.

Regarding my loss of limb I have in a way learnt to do everything I did pre-amputation, but in a different manner. Initially that started with learning to walk again, taking a shower, driving a car, and then over time I learnt how to cycle again, water-ski, snow ski, and here we are now training for a marathon (11 years since my last attempt). Summarising as I am here does no justice to the challenges that I and we as a family had to overcome to obtain what is the 'new normal'.

Needless to say running with a prosthetic blade is far from what I was accustomed to. It has taken many years to adapt to living with a prosthetic and walking took the best part of a year initially especially carrying what is about 3kg in weight attached to my residual limb/stump. This is simply not something you just get used to in a matter of weeks. Everything from phantom limb pain, blisters, sores, benign tumours, bruising and ingrown hairs have come and gone. In October last year I struggled to run even 3 miles with the pressure, impact and bruising that was caused from running with this so-called ‘running blade’. However perseverance, sheer determination and grit has put me in a position to compete in this 26.2 mile run in a matter of weeks from now. At time of writing this I am running over 50km a week with my longest run to date being 16 miles. I will spare the gory details on the state of my residual limb after running such a distance!

So my ask; whether it’s a cheer on race day (if you happen to be in London), sponsorship of a penny for every mile completed or a more substantial donation I am extremely grateful for your generosity.

Your support will be invaluable for the UCLH (University College London Hospital) Sarcoma Team. I can vouch firsthand how amazing this world class team is and the treatment they provide those children and adults who have contracted something many of us have never heard of. Their research and knowledge is shared globally to treat, support and care for those that need our help the most. This is a small charity so every penny is invested in helping patients reach a positive outcome.

Like many of us I never believed it would happen to me, but it did. I now want to do my small bit to thank those that gave me that second chance.

Thank you,

Jimmy

https://jimmyhall.me/