Buckingham runner completes third marathon for cancer charity

Karen Ellis, 61, has taken on the iconic race every year since 2022 in support of Freddie’s Future – a Special Fund of the Bone Cancer Research Trust.

Karen was inspired to lace up her trainers to help patients like Freddie Croft, who was diagnosed with Ewing sarcoma – a form of primary bone cancer – when he was just six years old.

Reflecting on her marathon hat-trick, Karen shared:

“Thinking about what Freddie and his family had to endure just made me want to help. My first London Marathon in 2022 was the biggest challenge of my life, having just turned 60 there were moments where I thought ‘what am I doing?!’. But then I remembered why I was doing it, and this is what kept me going that year and every year since.

The training was tough and getting motivated to go out running when it is minus degrees and pouring with rain is hard, but I just thought about how lucky I am to be able to run. Hearing about the work of the Bone Cancer Research Trust, and the research they fund to help patients like Freddie, I knew what I needed to do.”

Laura Riach, Head of Fundraising and Communications at the Bone Cancer Research Trust, added:

“We are so grateful to Karen for her continued support of Freddie’s Future. Her phenomenal fundraising has included teddy tombolas at fetes and local events, sweepstakes, raffles, cake sales, hand-delivering Christmas cards in her village, and even litter picking in the countryside to collect a whopping 130kg of cans for a metal recycling facility! She truly has gone the extra mile to help improve outcomes for children like Freddie, and every penny raised will be put towards life-saving research to help more patients survive and thrive.”

Karen has been putting her best foot forward for ten-year-old Freddie Croft, her best friend’s nephew, after learning about his gruelling and lengthy journey with Ewing sarcoma.

Freddie’s diagnosis in November 2019 not only revealed that he had cancer, but that it had already spread (metastasised) around his tiny body.

His treatment involved months of chemotherapy, blood and platelet transfusions, injections, and radiotherapy — from which he suffered harsh side effects.

As a result of the treatment, Freddie now has adrenal insufficiency, low thyroid levels and low growth hormones, with the lining of his lungs scarred by radiotherapy.

Freddie’s family have since set up a Special Fund with the Bone Cancer Research Trust, called Freddie’s Future, to raise money for the development of newer, kinder treatments for Ewing sarcoma patients.

If you would like to support Karen’s fundraising for Freddie’s Future, please visit:

www.justgiving.com/page/karenellis2024

For more information about Ewing sarcoma and the signs and symptoms please visit the Bone Cancer Research Trust’s dedicated and accurate information resources:

www.bcrt.org.uk/information/information-by-type/ewing-sarcoma

If you need information or support with any aspect of coping or dealing with primary bone cancer, please do not hesitate to contact the Bone Cancer Research Trust Support & Information Service on 0800 111 4855. Alternatively, you can email them at [email protected] or visit www.bcrt.org.uk/support.