Hello

On the 6th of April 2007 my little brother, Martin, died from Ewing's Sarcoma. He was 17 years old. Martin was a wonderful brother, he loved life, his friends and music. He was happy and fun.

Bone Cancer Research Trust are a charity that raise awareness of primary bone cancers including Ewing's. They also fund research into primary bone cancers, so that maybe one day primary bone cancers will have a similar survival rate to other childhood cancers.

I'm running the Royal Parks Half Marathon in memory of Martin. I am not a very good runner, and I'm already having nightmares about not finishing. So please please please give me the kick up the arse I need by sponsoring me and raising money for Bone Cancer Research Trust.

Thank you for your support. xxx

13/June/08 - A very big thank you to everyone who has sponsored me so far! It really means a lot to me!!

10/July/08 - I am pleased to report that I am now able to run for longer than 2 minutes before I have to stop, gasping for breath and trying not to be sick. In fact yesterday I entered the Reigate Priory Summer 10K race (6.2 miles), and I completed it in 62mins and 40sec! Not bad for my first ever race, and most importantly I didn't come last!!! I've still got a lot of training to do before the half marathon, so I'll continue to post updates here on my progress!!

23/07/08 – Today I smashed my fundraising target of £700!!!!!! I’m really over the moon. Thank you so much to everyone who has sponsored me! But this doesn’t mean an end to my fundraising efforts!!! It would be brilliant if I could reach £1000!! So if you haven’t sponsored me yet, please sponsor me today and help me smash my new £1000 target!!!!!!!!

23/07/08 – This evening I ran in the Gatton Summer 10K. This is a challenging course with lots of steep hills as well as logs to jump over and fences to climb. I completed the race in 67.08 mins.  

31/07/08 - Today I ran the South London Harriers informal "Near as damn it!" 10K. This race was in Coulsdon through Farthing Downs and Happy Valley! I completed it in 60mins and 13sec. I'm getting better!!!!

28/09/08 - It’s been a while since I last posted an update on my half marathon training, so I thought I’d do one now.  All had been going very well, by the end of August I had done my first 10 mile run. But then I started getting pains in my chest when running. I went to the Drs and had to have lots of tests to make sure I didn’t have a blood clot or something wrong with my heart!! Anyway to cut a long story short there was nothing wrong with me and after nearly 4 weeks the pains just went away by themselves. The problem is that after 4 weeks of no running my fitness has gone right down, and I’ve only got 14 days until race day!!!!! So this weekend I ran 5 miles on Saturday and 7 miles today. I’ll work hard to try to get some miles in over the next week, and then I’ll have to slow down a bit so that I’m not exhausted come race day. I think it will have to be will power rather than fitness that will get me through on race day!!! Wish me luck!!! I’ll post after the race to let you know how I did!

19/10/08

We did it! Thank you so much for your support! On Sunday 12^th of October both me and my dad, Malcolm, ran the Royal Parks Half Marathon. Between the two of us we have raised £3,122. (You can see my dad’s just giving page here, http://www.justgiving.com/malcmatthews ) The last I heard all of the Bone Cancer Research Trust (BCRT) runners have raised a total of £42,000 from Just Giving (online) donations alone.

My dad and I ran the first 6 miles together, but then split up because we find it more comfortable to run at slightly different paces. I found the first 10 miles fairly comfortable (10 miles is the longest I had run in training), but for the last three I had really sore legs!!! I finished the race in 02:24:19 and my dad did it in 02:21:03! We’re both really pleased with our times, and both want to do another one now so that we can beat our times! It was a hot sunny day so there where lots of supporters out which was great!

You can see lots of photo’s of me running and at the finish my dads flicker page, http://www.flickr.com/photos/mm/sets/72157607958214742/. You can also read an article about me and my dad running the royal parks half marathon for Martin, which was in The Surrey Mirror, http://www.thisissurreytoday.co.uk/golf/memory-Martin/article-401412-detail/article.html.

Thank you so much for supporting me on this run, and thank you for your donation to BCRT. Bone cancer kills more teenagers than any other illness, but in my experience most people haven’t even herd of it. Very often bone cancer is misdiagnosed as doctors don’t recognise the symptoms. This is why BCRT’s work raising awareness of bone cancers and funding research in to them is so important. You can read more about BCRT and find out about more ways to support them by clicking on the following link to their website, http://www.bonecancerresearch.org.uk/index.shtml.

I did this run in memory of Martin. (You might like to read Martin’s Story, http://www.bonecancerresearch.org.uk/Stories_martinmatthews.shtml ) Martin spent his whole life, including the time when he was ill, enjoying life and living it to the full. He put his all in to everything that he did. He was always there for others and had many friends. He is my role model and inspiration. It has been very important to me to do this run in Martin’s memory, and to continue to celebrate Martins life. Thank you very much for supporting me in doing this.

Love from Sarah

Donating through this site is simple, fast and totally secure. It is also the most efficient way to sponsor me: Bone Cancer Research Trust will receive your money faster and, if you are a UK taxpayer, an extra 28% in tax will be added to your gift at no cost to you.