Dawn from Charnwood
In 2006, Dawn was training for the London Marathon, but unfortunately injured her knee during her training, and was unable to compete, and in 2009, she developed breast cancer.
Dawn underwent chemotherapy to reduce the size of the 7.5cm lump, but a bad reaction to chemo meant she ended up in a wheelchair, thinking she'd never be able to walk again, or achieve her dream of running the London Marathon. Dawn then went on to have a mastectomy, as well as 25 rounds of radiotherapy for 5 weeks, which physically and mentally drained her.
In 2010, Dawn was given the all-clear and went into remission, and was able to slowly start walking again and build up her strength. In 2014, she joined a local parkrun, and walked the entire route. Slowly but surely, her fitness returned and she began to run again.
Dawn soon got accepted to enter the 2015 London Marathon, and so she joined a local running group to help her train. She was the slowest person at the club, and would often be running at the back, but that didn't deter her from turning up each week. Dawn achieved her dream in April 2015 and finished the London Marathon, and has since gone on to complete it a further 3 times. She'll do whatever it takes to keep the cancer away, and will continue to eat healthily and will carry on running as long as her body lets her.
Dawn wanted to help and encourage other people like her, and so became a running coach and Couch to 5K run leader. Now, she's inspiring people from all over the country and indeed the world, to pick up running and improve their lifestyle.
Do you want to be active like Dawn?
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