Derry woman to do Parkrun as a poo to raise money for Bowel Cancer

Joanne’s sister Margaret Black was diagnosed with bowel cancer in 2021 at just 45 years old. Margaret displayed no symptoms and only found out there might be something wrong when she went to give blood. Joanne has made it her mission since then to raise awareness for the illness while fundraising for cancer research.

Margaret explained: “I have always tried to donate blood when I can so this time, they did the finger prick test to test my blood and they said I was unable to because I was low in iron. I had to make an appointment with the GP but I really just thought it was because we were going through Covid and I was working from home so I wasn’t as active or something. My GP told me there was something else going on so she sent me for a colonoscopy and they told me then that I had cancer.

“I had to get surgery and I found out that the cancer had spread so I had to get chemotherapy as well but everything is all grand now. I had no symptoms at all so if I didn’t go to donated blood I probably wouldn’t be here now. ”

Margaret’s family have a history of bowel cancer but Margaret was very young to get a cancer that would typically be seen in older people.

“My mammy had bowel cancer in her early 50s and my aunt had it in her 70s so it does run on the family but I was only 45. I was lucky enough to get my treatment in Altnagelvin but I was one of the youngest people in the waiting room. The oncologist said that people with bowel cancer are getting younger and younger, which is scary.”

After years of trying, Joanne has managed to get a place on the London Marathon through a competition in her work, Fujitsu. Applicants were invited to write a letter explaining why they deserved the place and Joanne wrote about her family’s history with cancer as well as her husband’s family’s history. She won the competition so now she has to raise £2,000 for Cancer Research UK before running the marathon.

Joanne will begin properly training for the marathon in January but she wants to get ahead of the game with her fundraising. She will run her 50th Parkrun on December 23 dressed in a poo costume.

Joanne said: “I’m not a fast runner and I know I’m never going to win the marathon or even do a great time but I want to spread as much awareness as possible for bowel cancer, that’s how I got the idea to dress up as a poo for my parkrun. Everyone’s telling me I’m going to look like sh*t but that’s the point!

"The chances of us getting cancer are one in two and my sister had it when she was only 45. If she hadn’t have caught it when she did, she would be dead by now. It can be embarrassing to talk about the symptoms of bowel cancer and no one wants to talk about poo but if somethings not right, go and get it checked out. My father-in-law has been diagnosed with bladder cancer in the past six months so I really want to get that message across to check yourself and to not wait if something isn’t right.

"Margaret saved her own life by going to give her 30th blood donation but giving blood also saves lives. I hadn’t donated blood in years because I used to faint but now I donate any chance I get because Margaret can’t anymore. I really want to get that message across that if you’re unable to donate money, you can donate blood. If you can’t donate blood, you can spread awareness and make sure you know the symptoms.”

Joanne and Margaret have two other sisters and the four are all very close, although sometimes a bit of sibling rivalry can present among them!

"I want the best for all my sisters,” said Joanne. “But we’re also completely competitive so I want to be better than them too! I love Margaret more than life itself and I’m just putting on my running shoes and getting out for a run but I saw the things she had to go through waiting for the diagnosis and going for the scans and everything else and this marathon is going to be nothing compared to that. Until cancer is really close to your family or yourself, you have no idea how difficult it is. It affects the whole family, not just the person going through it. “

Joanne is feeling ‘excited’ for the Parkrun, but hopes that the weather is on her side on the day to make the run easier. She is doing a raffle to raise the funds for Cancer Research and is inviting people to guess what time she’ll complete the Parkrun. The winner will get either a 50 euro fuel voucher for Callaghan's Maxol Burt or a £50 amazon voucher. Donations cost £5.

"I'm hoping that people come out and support me on the day and that we raise awareness and money for a great cause and also that I get under 30 minutes. I probably won't because I never have – I've been so close, but no cigar. I will do my best, though. In my Parkruns, I've done everything from 58 minutes down to 30 minutes. It's such a big range and that’s because of different things like running when I've been pregnant, or running with a buggy or in bad weather but this time I really want under 30.”

Joanne will run the London Marathon on April 21 2024 and she says she is ‘completely nervous’ for the big day.

“I don't know how I'm going to do the marathon but I realize how lucky I am to even be there,” she said. “The chance of getting in the space is unheard of and it's a big challenge for me but it’s all for a good cause. My sister said I'm not allowed to do the marathon as a poo because it’s quite heavy and I might pass out but we’ll see how we get on!”

To support Joanne’s fundraising efforts or to enter the raffle, visit https://2024tcslondonmarathon.enthuse.com/pf/joanne-black.