A fundraiser who broke her arm weeks before a half-marathon beat the odds and completed the race for the charity that helped her father through cancer

Mia Thomas, from Tonbridge, said she felt she owed it to herself and those supporting her efforts with donations to make it all the way through.

The fashion sales executive decided to run to raise money Bowel Cancer UK after her father was diagnosed with the illness in 2019.

The 25-year-old said: “He was diagnosed a few months after I moved back from uni.

“It was unexpected and initially quite worrying. But we were very lucky that the doctors were confident that his cancer was treatable, and this helped us all to stay as positive as possible at a really difficult time.

“He was able to undergo surgery quite quickly; this was then followed up with four rounds of chemo, which was successful, and Dad received the all-clear in March 2020, about six months after his diagnosis.

“It is still nerve-wracking each time he goes for a check-up, but four years on he is doing amazingly well.

“A lot of that is thanks to the work and research funded by Bowel Cancer UK, which is why I felt I wanted to take on the half-marathon and raise money for their cause.”

In July, Mia began training for the October Royal Parks Half Marathon in London, which she was to run with her friend Katie Breadmore, and to begin with, everything was going smoothly.

With each session, she felt her stamina and times improve but six weeks before the race she fell, breaking her elbow in the process.

This left her unable to train for a month and by the time her arm was fixed and she was able to get moving again it wasn’t long until race day.

She continued: “Even though I knew I wasn't going to be able to run it in the time I'd hoped for, it still felt important to take part, and I was spurred on by the donations I'd received for an amazing cause.

“Race day went really well and was great fun. It was a beautiful day and the route was amazing; we ran past landmarks like Buckingham Palace and the Houses of Parliament, as well as through the Royal Parks, finishing in Hyde Park.

“The atmosphere was great and there were crowds of supporters lining most of the route, which was a massive boost when it got tough towards the end.”

In the end, Mia raised more than £1,000 for the charity that helped her father through his diagnosis, and wants to do more challenges in the future. For the time being, however, she is happy to take a break from running.

Luke Squires, director of fundraising for Bowel Cancer UK, said: “We’re so grateful to Mia and Katie for taking on this challenge for the charity.

“We're determined to save lives and improve the quality of life of everyone affected by the disease but we're entirely reliant on the generous support and commitment of people like Mia and Katie, choosing to run for us and raising funds.”