Back in November 2011, shortly after moving away to study at Leeds Metropolitan University, I was diagnosed with bone cancer in my left leg. My diagnosis came completely out of the blue. Being a very keen sportsman, I thought it was nothing more than a niggle or old injury flaring up. However, something made me pick up the phone and book a doctors appointment. Luckily for me, the doctor I saw was very aware of bone cancer after diagnosing a patient already, in their short practicing career, and they sent me off for an x-ray. The x-ray, further tests and finally a biopsy confirmed that it was what the doctors feared, a high grade osteosarcoma in my proximal tibia.   

A full year of treatment in 2012, consisting of six rounds of chemotherapy, limb salvage surgery and a course of an immunosuppressant later and my cancer was gone. This is a very simple way of summing up a year from hell!

If you would like to get a little more insight into the reality of that year, then you can read an unedited version of a blog I wrote in 2012. Strap yourselves in, ignore the poor grammar and feel free to take a look:

In 2013, my road to recovery started. It was time to get back to university, to finish what I started, and to rediscover who the post-cancer Adam was. This transition sounds easier than it was. The main thing I struggled with was my involvement in sport and activity. My operation left me unable to participate in sport in the way that I used to. I found this incredibly difficult to process as it felt like the cancer had robbed me of so much more than a small part of my tibia! Who was I, if I wasn’t Adam the sportsman?

This was tough for a while, however, over the past ten years, I have been on a journey to rediscover my involvement in sport. I have learnt how I can adapt and take part in a way that suits the post-operation me. I have managed to re-spark the feeling of joy that sport gave me and this personal passion has also influenced my career. I now work in disability sport and feel just as strongly about supporting other disabled people to be active as I do about keeping active myself.

As I’ve mentioned, transitioning back into ‘normal’ life wasn’t always easy. I spent many years after my operation resenting my leg and focussing on the things that I am now unable to do because of it.

It’s no secret that I have perfectionist traits and, for me, knowing my leg didn’t look or function in a ‘perfect way’ anymore was difficult to comprehend.

After realising I was becoming stressed, anxious, angry and unhappy a lot of the time, and speaking to Charlotte (my wife), we made the decision that I should seek support from a counsellor, something that I had never felt I needed before.

I also started attending BCRT’s virtual support groups and found that it really helped to share my experiences and how I was feeling with others, who were on their own road to recovery.

To read more about my journey through sport, how my relationship with my leg changed over time and how I went about seeking support, you can read a blog I wrote in April 2022:

A few months before this milestone, I saw a BCRT social post looking for runners for the London Marathon, which planted a seed in my brain. Running a marathon was something I had always wanted to do, but how was I going to do it?

I can no longer run and I wouldn’t be able to walk that far. But I couldn’t shake the desire to give it a go and I found myself reflecting on the process that I went through, in 2012, to relearn to walk following my operation.

This gave me an idea… Perhaps the thing that helped me to learn to walk again could also support me through this challenge. So, it was decided! I would complete the London Marathon 2023… On crutches!

Training didn’t get off to the best of starts, with the crutches ripping up my hands on my first outing. After the hurdle of blisters was overcome, it was time to get some proper running gear and jump right into it.

I quickly learnt that there was no manual on how to run a marathon on crutches, so a lot of my training required trial and error, listening to what my body was telling me and, to be honest, making things up as I went along!

I followed a standard beginners marathon training plan, which saw me go out on 2 to 3 short runs during the week and a long run at the weekend. It started with me going out for 1 mile and increased all the way to 20 miles over the 16 weeks.

Training took me all over the place, with family and friends, near and far, lacing up their running shoes to keep me company and show their support. The media also grabbed hold of my challenge and I received lots of interest and opportunities in the weeks before the marathon, which enabled me to promote the amazing work that BCRT do and to raise vital awareness about primary bone cancer. As well as the media appearances and the training, the fundraising side of things was also ramping up. Multiple bake sales, a pancake and fizz evening, a charity football match, a triathlon and a comedy night later, as well as a load of generous donations, we were set to break the £10,000 target, as marathon day approached.

On Saturday 22 April, it was time to head down to London to pick up my number, eat lots of carbs, drink lots of water and get an early night. Race day itself was full of anticipation, nerves and excitement all rolled into one. I knew the marathon was going to be both mentally and physically tough, however I couldn’t envisage what completing 26.2 miles around the streets of London, going past all the iconic landmarks and being cheered on by thousands of people was going to be like. Tough? Certainly! But, at the same time, it was one of the most incredible experiences of my life. What made it even more special was that I got to share this experience with lots of Team TenforTen members, who made the trip to London to offer their support. Not only did I complete the London Marathon 2023, I completed it under my target of 6 hours and broke the current world record to complete a marathon on crutches by over 42 minutes. For a full account of the day itself, have a read of my TenforTen London Marathon Challenge Blog:

My TenforTen London Marathon Challenge captured the hearts of many. It gathered some momentum, raising the profile of primary bone cancer and hopefully inspiring people affected by bone cancer along the way. It also showcased what can be achieved when a team of ambitious, committed and caring people come together.

My London Marathon challenge quite simply would not have been possible without Team TenforTen’s unwavering support.

As I sat in the bath, the evening after the London Marathon, it hit me that I didn’t want everyone’s hard work to go to waste or for this journey to end. As much as I would love to do more bonkers challenges on my crutches, I know it is not sustainable for my body and because of the amount of time needed to commit to training. This was when the light bulb moment came to me and I realised that the continuation of TenforTen didn’t need to be a solo mission. In fact, it never has been! There are so many amazing members of this team already…