There is a saying that a picture paints a thousand words. I think perhaps the above photograph writes a whole storybook...
Pictured from left to right are Patient Tolerant Husband, Nearly Ultra Daughter, Martin, Mad Ultra Mummy, and Lucy (aka Dawko). It was taken after a very wet Wyre Forest Parkrun just 5 months ago. A little more about that later... Those who have been following Mad Ultra Mummy over the last 12 months will probably recognise Lucy as being the other half of the duo Team TiTs. I think the team is about to celebrate its first birthday, having come into existence when Lucy and I coaxed/cajoled/bullied/whatever one another into doing Ironman Wales 2018 about this time last year. TiT stands for Triathlete in Training, in case you are interested!!! (and yes, that was my idea!!!). Our promise to one another was that we would get each other through the journey, whatever it threw at us. It has been an interesting, if not sometimes challenging, first year! On the sporting front, Lucy has run her first UltraMarathon, I have improved my swimming, we have both vastly improved our cycling abilities and we have had an absolute ball ticking off a number of firsts en route to (hopefully) our first triathlon next week... including open water swimming, night swimming, and long distance cycling, duathlon, and aquathlon! But Lucy has also faced the heart-ache of dealing with her Dad, Martin's, terminal cancer diagnosis. Martin was diagnosed with a terminal brain tumour 3 years ago. He and the family were advised at the time that he probably had about 12 to 18 months to live. But brain surgery, chemo and a good dose of bloody determination kept Martin going. He fought in every way he could to keep going and doing what he wanted to do, even managing to run the London Marathon with Lucy last April, just 2 days before his last lot of brain surgery. Sadly, that surgery was the last effective treatment Martin was able to receive, with the follow-up chemo failing to have any further effect. In Autumn 2017, treatment was withdrawn as there was no further benefit to be gained. The photo above was taken in November. Martin was still running Parkrun most weeks. Living up in Nottingham, he had never run Wyre Forest Parkrun so we all ran it together. It was a vile wet day but we didn't care. Martin loved it. We sat down for coffee afterwards and the dying man glowed with vitality at a morning well spent - another 3 miles on the clock - an act of defiance at the cancer that was worming its way into his brain - and a man determined to squeeze every last ounce of living from the life that he had left. Humble gentleman that he was, Martin said that he was honoured that I would choose to run Parkrun with him. The fact was, it was my honour entirely to run with such a down-to-earth, real life hero. Sadly, Martin's Parkrun days were soon to draw to a close. He continued for as long as his body would allow him to but eventually, at the end of 2017, his balance, coordination and motor skills became too affected for him to continue his weekly ritual. His physical and mental deterioration were very rapid from that point onwards and he spoke about feeling that he was letting people down by "losing his fight" against the cancer. The fact is, in the war against death, none of us are ever winners... all we can ever do is never give up and try to win each individual battle. And in that regard, Martin was an out and out, gold medal winner. He would not lie down and let the 'inevitable' happen. His determination was incredible. We lost Martin in the middle of March. His funeral was last week. It was incredibly well attended by so many people, from so many walks of life, all of whom referred to Martin as "inspirational'. He may have moved on to more celestial Parkruns now, but his legacy will continue to inspire so many people (me included) to push that little harder, to squeeze that little bit more from themselves, from their lives. With Martin, Lucy and Karen's blessing, in Martin's honour, I am dedicating this whole year's efforts to Macmillan Nurses. Please forgive me if I bully you to donate just a pound or two to this worthy cause. It's all about helping to keep people winning those battles... If you would like to donate, please follow the link below:
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