Dear friends and family,

This spring I’ll be running the Great West Run 10K with my wonderful friend Amy, someone who has faced breast cancer with courage and a lot of humour and grit. We met a the starte of our diagnosis and we’ve supported each other through treatment, recovery and the long, slow work of rebuilding our lives. Running this race together feels like a celebration of how far we’ve come and a reminder of the strength that grows in the hardest moments.

I’m using this run to raise money for FORCE Cancer Charity, a local organisation that has been absolutely central to my own recovery. FORCE stepped in to fill the gaps the NHS simply can’t, offering counselling when everything felt overwhelming, physio when my body needed careful rebuilding and gym‑based rehab that helped me rediscover my confidence and my love of running. Their support didn’t just help me heal, it helped me feel like myself again.

FORCE relies on charitable donations to provide this kind of care. Every counselling session, every physio appointment, every moment of reassurance or practical support exists because people choose to give. I want more people to have access to the same lifeline that helped rebuild my life.

Training for this 10K with Amy feels like the next chapter: choosing joy, challenge, community and hope after a period where so much felt uncertain.

If you’re able to donate, you’ll be helping FORCE continue their vital work, providing counselling, physio, rehabilitation, information and emotional support to people and families facing cancer across Devon. Every contribution genuinely makes a difference to someone’s life.

Thank you for reading, for cheering us on, and for standing with us and with everyone affected by cancer.

Katie x