My friend Joe passed away on 11th April 2022, less than a month after his 32nd birthday. He seemed perfectly healthy - we had recently been away on holiday together, and he was extremely active, a regular runner, and full-time chef, living life to the full.

In the weeks leading up to his death, there was no indication he was ill at all - what started off as symptoms of a stomach bug was diagnosed as GIST, an extremely rare stomach cancer. This disease was sadly too aggressive and fast moving for Joe to be saved. Although he did not suffer for long, it was a terrible shock for all of us.

My friend Lucy, Joe's partner, has written some words about Joe on the team page, and I'd urge you all to read them as she is far more eloquent than I am.

I've never been a runner - as someone who had never run further than running for a bus (and even that would've been a bit much most of the time tbh) until a couple of years ago, the idea of doing a half marathon seems completely impossible.. but here we are!

Joe was the reason I briefly attempted running in the first place - when we were travelling around Australia together a few years ago and living in tents, we would wake up and be absolutely freezing in the morning (Australia gets cold, who knew?) and Joe would do a 5k run to warm himself up. I assured him it was impossible for me to run at all - but he encouraged me to try and do it a bit further each day, and eventually I was also running 5k every morning.

Once we returned to the UK, and had beds to sleep in rather than tents, the running quickly stopped for me, despite Joe's encouragement and attempts to get me running again.

I'm sure he'd be equal parts proud and amused at the idea of me running the Ealing Half Marathon - and we'd really like to raise some money to hopefully help patients and loved ones to have a better outcome than our friend Joe.

GIST Cancer UK funds research and provides support for patients with a rare form of cancer known as Gastro-Intestinal Stromal Tumour (GIST). They provide patient information in hospitals throughout the UK, host support meetings for patients and carers and host an online community providing practical advice and information. They fund research into furthering treatment options for GIST, work with medical professionals to increase awareness of GIST cancer, and fund a specialist PAWS-GIST Clinic in Cambridge. Visit their website: www.gistcancer.org.uk