A Perthshire man gave his all for 26 gruelling miles and even fought back tears to complete the famous London Marathon in dedication to his cancer fighting partner.
David McLeod, 28, crossed the Buckingham Palace finish line on Sunday after three hours and 48 minutes on his feet in support of girlfriend Ellie Brown who was diagnosed with Hodgkin lymphoma at just 24 years old.
The Comrie native’s outstanding effort has raised over £4000 for the charity that supported Ellie through her toughest moments in her six months of chemotherapy.
The couple have been very active and enjoyed many hill walks around Scotland in their seven and a half years together. However, two years ago, during the summer, Ellie noticed that she was getting more tired during the walks and put it down to her new role as a junior doctor.
It wasn’t until she found a lump in her neck that led her to her diagnosis in October 2020 – which turned both of their world’s upside down. Hodgkin lymphoma is an uncommon cancer that develops in the lymphatic system, which is a network of vessels and glands spread throughout the body.
The main symptom is swollen glands that do not go away, with the main treatments chemotherapy, radiotherapy and anti-cancer medicines called monoclonal antibodies. The exact cause of Hodgkin lymphoma is unknown but is more common in people who have a weakened immune system.
Ellie was treated and cared for at the Teenage Cancer Trust specialised unit in Western General Hospital in Edinburgh and was supported by youth support coordinators who urged her to speak to other young people on the ward, especially as it was during the pandemic and visitations were at an all-time low.
David and Ellie had to facetime each other to keep in contact. But the trust, who aid those aged between 13-24, made sure this was possible and tried to support David as much as they could in talking to Ellie throughout her chemotherapy course.
The trust’s vital services to help young people with cancer are entirely dependent on fundraised income, which compelled David to step in and give back following Ellie’s recovery.
David, who had never run a marathon before, said: “Ellie saw that Teenage Cancer Trust were looking for people to run the London Marathon for them.
“Because I felt helpless about not being able to be there during treatment and because the trust did such a good job at looking after her, I decided to sign up. It was my way of doing something and giving back to the charity and also raising awareness among my friends.”
David said he had to “fight back tears” at points during his inspiring run because of the cheering crowds and his thoughts of Ellie. He added: “It was an amazing feeling and had hit home what I was doing it for. I didn’t want to let anyone down.
“Ellie was giving me water bottles and Lucozade at the drinks stations as I raced and I gave her a few high fives along the way. It was extra special to see Ellie there – it was on my mind to do her proud.
“A few bits in the race I had to fight back the emotions and tears as it hit home when the crowd cheered. But it is an easy thing to push through when some people are going through more pain than running a marathon.
“Ellie gave me a big hug at the finish line and she said she was super proud of me and it was a really nice moment.” Following her six months of treatment Ellie went into remission in March 2021.
“I took quite a bit of time to recover as it was really tough,” David said. She is getting on well and was back working as a junior doctor in Glasgow in August 2021.
“Every month she is getting more strength back. To go through the years of a junior doctor and then see her get through this makes me proud.”
The money raised by David will now be used by Teenage Cancer Trust to fund specialist hospital units, nurses and youth workers across the UK that provide outstanding age-appropriate care and emotional support to those in need.
“The trust have done so much for us,” he added. They had stations located along the marathon route which was great.
“The money I raised was about £3500 but with funding aid it will be around £4300. I am really chuffed with that as the minimum target was about £2000.
“But I was keen to raise more than that in support of the great work that the charity does.”
A trust spokesperson said: “Cancer is tough. But Teenage Cancer Trust’s work puts young people in the best possible place, physically, mentally and emotionally, for their cancer treatment and beyond.
“We do that by funding expert nurses, support teams, and hospital units. And we’re the only UK charity dedicated to providing this specialised nursing.
“But we’re completely dependent on donations for all of this work, which is why we’re so very grateful to be supported by David McLeod in this very important cause. A huge and heartfelt thank you from everyone at Teenage Cancer Trust to everyone involved.”
To donate to David’s cause go to https://bit.ly/3eeCu2v or search ‘David’s London Marathon Page’ on the JustGiving website.
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