Nottingham cancer doctor wins gruelling 268-mile race, raising £21k-plus for charity
Nottingham oncologist Lucy Gossage has won one of the world’s toughest challenges – and raised more than £21k for the Move Against Cancer charity.
Lucy has just completed her second Winter Spine race, a gruelling 268-mile trek across the Pennines in snow, ice, and gale-force winds. Runners carry their own food, drink and kit, and have 168 hours to complete the race.
Lucy – co-founder of the 5k Your Way, Move Against Cancer initiative and Oncologist at Nottingham University Hospitals NHS Trust (NUH) – finished in 87 hours, 41 minutes, and 38 seconds – on just 3 hours and 40 minutes’ sleep.
She shaved 19 hours of her time last year, when she raised an incredible £37k for Move Against Cancer (including Gift Aid). “I wasn't going to do another fundraiser as nearly a thousand people donated last year, but so many people wanted to donate. I asked people to donate a coffee. I thought I might get £2,000!”
Former professional triathlete Lucy specialises in the treatment of germ-cell tumours and sarcomas and is passionate about the power of movement for those living with and after cancer.
“Anyone who knows me or follows me will understand my deep-seated passion to support others via Move Against Cancer,” said Lucy. “There is so much evidence that being active is one of the best things that anyone living with or after cancer can do. Move Against Cancer is about spreading awareness of that, and then supporting, inspiring, and empowering people living with or after cancer to be active.”
“We’re a small but mighty charity,” she said.” The work we do really does change lives.”
The 5k Your Way parkrun movement – with more than 100 across the UK – brings together those living with or after cancer, their families, and healthcare professionals once a month in parkruns – Nottingham’s is at Forest Recreation Ground on the last Saturday of every month.
“I love it because I get to know people living with cancer – not as their doctor, but as their friend. It's really powerful as a healthcare professional to meet people outside the hospital environment. They tell me what really matters – and it's not what you think it would be.”
And the movement has been royally endorsed; King Charles paid a surprise visit to the 5k Your Way group in Sandringham in Norfolk.
“By all accounts, he was lovely, and genuinely interested in their stories. How cool is that!? We've got royal endorsement for something we started right here in Nottingham!”
Lucy recognises that pushing her body to the limits is a privilege that many people don’t get.
“People deal with adversities that we can't even imagine. By the end of the Spine, I couldn’t even undress myself, and all I could say to my mum and friends was ‘this is self-inflicted! I don't deserve this sympathy’. No matter how tough things got, I’m aware that I chose to do it and could stop at any point. People living with cancer, or other adversities, don’t get that choice.”
More than 600 young people have been supported by Move Against Cancer’s eight-week online cancer rehabilitation programme.
“Having a job where you go home, and you know you've made a difference - I don't think you can take that away. I particularly love working with younger patients – you see so much resilience, so much tenacity. It reminds me to live life – say yes to opportunities, cherish the small things - because life is short.
“Oncology is an uplifting specialty - much more so than people realise.”
Lucy’s success has attracted a lot of media attention – not least because after she completed last year’s, she found out her partner - who had also done the race - was having an affair and much of what she thought she knew about him had been fabricated.
“I was astounded that something like that could happen to me. I thought sharing my story might help others and take away some of the stigma. I wanted to do the Spine this year for me. A friend said that was excessive but necessary and I guess that sums it up!
“When I was on the start line, a friend asked ‘what does success look like?’ And I realised ‘this is success. I've got everything I could possibly want from this race – closing that chapter – just by getting to the start line. Anything else is just a bonus’.
“It's kind of weird that so many people know about what happened, but I'd like people to read my blog rather than just read the headlines. It’s also given me a platform to talk about Move Against Cancer.
“Someone showed me a post on social media where someone said, ‘I've never heard about this amazing charity until I followed the Spine race’. And that to me, was everything because it shows that this is bigger than me – and bigger than the race.
“It's a continual battle with funding and turning a small charity into a medium charity,” said Lucy. “But it's exciting as well. There are loads more we'd love to do – little by little, we're making our mark.”
Move Against Cancer’s mission is to support and inspire people. Find out more: www.moveagainstcancer.org
And you can support Move Against Cancer via Lucy’s Just Giving page
You can read Lucy’s blog here: https://lucygossage.com
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