I am running the 2026 TCS London Marathon for Brain Research UK! And yes, I'm as surprised to write that as you are to read it.

I am not a runner. I enjoy lots of things that are running adjacent, like buying trainers off Vinted, but as someone who took the concept of Couch to 5k quite literally (ran 5k and never ran again) the only thing I currently get a mild jog on for is when I hear that the local bakery is running low on almond croissants.

So why am I committing to such a personally unprecedented feat of endurance? Well, because on 3rd January 2024 I got a phone call that changed my life forever.

My Dad, who was at the Norfolk and Norwich University Hospital (NNUH) recuperating from an infection that had kicked off his heart condition, called me to say that my Mum had taken a turn at his bedside during visiting hours.

Concerned she was having a stroke, the doctors on Dad's ward whisked her down to A&E for emergency scans. Those scans revealed that Mum was not having a stroke, but that she had a brain tumour.

The tumour, it emerged, was a glioblastoma; the most aggressive and most common type of cancer that originates in the brain.

The doctors recommended surgery.

In the weeks leading up to the surgery date, Mum joked that the first words she'd say to me after surgery would be: "Who the bloody hell are you?"

As I walked into her side room, to see her bandaged up and bleary eyed, she looked straight at me and said, "I know who you are, Sarah" and in that moment I was bloody glad that she didn't commit to the bit.

The day after surgery, Mum suddenly became more poorly and after aspirating and experiencing repeated prolonged seizures, it was decided she needed to be transferred to intensive care and be sedated.

At some point over the 3 weeks, Mum's surgeon and specialist oncology nurse came to see me and Dad to talk about prognosis. They explained that given its aggressiveness, the typical survival duration of a Glioblastoma brain tumour is 12-18 months. They paused, and quietly said that if Mum was ever well enough to leave intensive care, she may have 2 months.

Mum did - in circumstances that I can't yet quite find the words for - nor could the intensive care doctors and nurses who visited her in the following days "because I couldn't believe my eyes when I read her notes" - survive her stay in intensive care.

And thanks to the determined grit of some remarkable humans at Addenbrookes and the NNUH, we were able to transfer mum by ambulance back to NNUH so that we could all be closer to home.

I know that everybody has a their own experiences with the NHS (and trust me, we had our challenges) but the doctors, nurses, physiotherapists and speech and language therapists on Heydon and Mulbarton Wards at NNUH were incredible.

We spent 4 months at NNUH with Mum, buoyed by frequent visits from family, friends and most crucially, Mum's Zumba instructor Lucia, who led Latin-inspired bedside routines to some of Mum's favourite songs, like Fireball by Pitbull (completely normal for a 69 year old woman).

We laughed, talked and stroked each other's hands for as long as we could, until the 15th June when my Mum - Sue Spooner - much adored dinner lady, cleaner, carer, dancer, joker, best in the world hugger, and woman with a laugh like no other - passed away peacefully with Dad and I by her side.

My Mum and Dad were married for 2 months shy of 45 years. They were always by each others sides, walking and meandering through life together, and discovering that most of life’s roads inevitably led to a Zumbathon.

Mum and Dad relinked arms and continued their journey together, 8 months after my Mum died, when my Dad passed away after a short battle with pneumonia on 8th February 2025.

I will be running for Brain Research UK in memory of them both.

For my Mum, who fought the tumour so hard, and for my Dad, who was by my side for 6 months, 8 hours a day, every day. We did it together, with the help of a mightily strong village. And I know that Mum and Dad will both be with me as I embark on this marathon challenge of my own.

I am aiming to raise £3,000 for Brain Research UK, and I need your help getting me there.

You can find out more about the incredible work of Brain Research UK below.

Thank you for reading and thank you for supporting.

Sarah x

---

Brain Research UK is the UKs leading national funder dedicated to research into neurological conditions. The charity fund vital research to increase understanding, improve diagnosis and treatment, and work towards the prevention of neurological conditions, to help people who suffer with them live better, longer.

Their funding is currently focused on three priority research areas: Brain Tumours, Brain and Spinal Cord Injury, and Headache and Facial Pain. These are areas where there is a large unmet patient need that is not reflected in current funding levels. By concentrating their efforts on these three areas, our support can have a more significant impact.

Help me to make a difference - your support means that Brain Research UK can continue to fund life-changing research so that people living with neurological conditions can live better, longer.