​London Marathon man Sam’s remarkable ‘Cancer story’

In total, more than 56,000 people took part, and by the end of the day the number of runners to have completed it had beaten the previous record of 55,646 set by the New York Marathon in November of last year.

Amongst those record breaking finishers was Derry runner and former St. Columb’s College student, Sam Brattin who crossed the line along with girlfriend, Maebh O’Sullivan. Sam’s time was a very creditable 3h:38m.

His time might not seem remarkable, but his story certainly is!

As he crossed the line on London’s famous Mall it symbolically brought to a close a chapter in his life that has brought more upheaval, adversity and achievement than most see in a lifetime.

You see Sam was only 15 when his mother died. Just a few years later he was diagnosed with cancer.

Whilst all this was going on he was studying for his A-Levels, managed to get excellent grades and get into Queen’s in Belfast to study Finance.

For a young lad just recently turned 20 this was a lot to handle. But then Sam, according to many who know him, is a pretty really remarkable fella. Last Monday, the day after the marathon, Sam visited his old alma mater, St. Columb’s College, and the clear affection and respect the staff and pupils there had for this tall young man was only too evident.

And for many too it was clearly an emotional day..

“Yeah it was,” explained Sam, “I could feel it. But it was absolutely lovely to be back. I met so many old friends and teachers; people who have influenced my life and looked after me during some tough days.

“To tell the truth, I was knackered after the marathon but seeing everyone really gave me a great boost.”

His sentiments were echoed by College principal, Caroline McLaughlin who was clearly delighted to have her former pupil back on the premises.

“I was beyond delighted to meet Sam and his girlfriend Meabh here today at St. Columb’s College.

“I was immensely proud of Sam when he was a student with us at Buncrana Road. He always showed resilience and determination. I am delighted that he continues to show the same energy and enthusiasm for his university pathway and his achievement at the recent London marathon is remarkable. He really lives out our Columban motto ‘Great oaks from little acorns grow.’ Sam is an

inspirational young man.”

Mrs McLaughlin’s words rightly hint at a young man who has had to fight too much adversity for his tender years. Without wanting to dwell on it too much Sam explained how his cancer was discovered.

"As I was going through Year 14 I knew something wasn’t right. I used to be full of energy, liked getting out and going for runs but now I was lethargic. It also started to affect me in other ways and I started to have lot of doctor and nursing appointments to see if they could get to the bottom of what was causing my tiredness. This meant skipping some classes for appointments etc.”

While all this was going on little did the St. Columb’s A Level student realise that in the background his maths teacher, Michaela Doherty was also noticing the change in Sam and growing increasingly concerned.

Michaela explains: “Sam arrived in my classroom September 2021 to study A-Level Mathematics. He was a quiet, diligent student who was always eager to please and keen to take advice on his study. He attended every support class and we built up a great working partnership.

“He used to love running and that was often a topic or a bit of banter on a Monday morning, about whatever race he had taken part in and what his PBs were. But then I noticed a change. He seemed increasingly tired, he was paler and appeared to be losing weight. Naturally I was concerned.”

Like all good teachers Michaela decided to make known those concerns by talking directly to Sam. She admits to being somewhat shocked when he confirmed there were concerns about his health and that he had been for a biopsy and was awaiting results.

Then the news came he needed a further scan in the Royal Victoria Hospital in Belfast. On that day, Michaela says she was on tenterhooks.

"The results of the scan were due to be shared on 24 th May 2023. His appointment was at 2p.m. However, Sam still attended my revision session on the morning of his appointment. He spent the morning with me then attended a geography revision class at 1:30 p.m. for 20 minutes before he headed to meet his Dad at Altnagelvin Hospital. Although Sam’s appointment clashed with his class he tried to facilitate both.

"As he left school, he promised he would contact me that evening on Google Classsroom with his results.”

And as time passed Michaela’s dread grew.

"I waited. And waited. At 8 p.m. that evening the message came through, ‘Miss… it’s not the news we were hoping for. I have Hodgkin’s Lymphoma Cancer.’ I was devastated.”

An emotional Michaela goes on: “Sam is one in a million and didn’t deserve this. I struggled to come to terms with the news. I rang him but I knew talking to him, I would need to be the adult and not get upset. Sam spoke quite openly about his diagnosis. He was quite factual about his treatment plan. There was no sign of self-pity. He wasn’t dwelling on the ‘Why me?’ outlook. He spoke quite openly outlining the initial plans and then discussed his upcoming geography paper which was two days later.”

Sam, himself, says he decided that he could only continue to live life as normally as he could. He needed to maintain a routine, so the next day she showed up for class as normal, attending his maths lessons with Mrs Doherty.

They did, however, later in the day, go to a local café for a bun and a chat. Sam sat his A-Level examinations and then had to immediately begin his chemotherapy. He had his first chemotherapy treatment on the day of the second A-Level Mathematics paper.

The chemo treatment lasted for a gruelling seven months. During this time, he got his A-Level results and did extremely well before setting off to Queen’s University to study for a degree in Finance.

But there is no sugar-coating the fact there were many dark days before, finally, a day dawned with good news.

"It had been hard going. And I’m not kidding when I say there were many bad days. But I kept hanging in as best I could. Finally, there was the scan in January 2024 which confirmed that things were looking good. I was in remission. And that was a signal to switch gears for me.

"What most young lads take for granted, I had been denied. Now I could indulge myself with takeaway food which had been an absolute no-no. I could even have a beer, go travelling, and actually start enjoying a student life, something that had been denied when dealing with the chemo and all that goes with it.’

And no-one was more delighted that his old maths teacher.

"The news was good. In fact, it was great. As time passed Sam contacted me to say he had received a place to run the London Marathon for the charity that had supported him, the Teenage Cancer Trust. I wasn’t sure it was a great idea.”

As a marathon runner herself with massive experience of just how gruelling the training needed is Michaela was concerned just how far he should be pushing his body.

“Just because a whole lot of people do it doesn’t mean that a marathon run is some kind of fun run. It’s far from it. Sam had run Park run every week of his treatment. His pre-cancer time was an

impressive 19 minutes with a treatment time in the region of 30 minutes on average. However, he was there every week with his uncle, Richard Brattin, and cousin, Conor; with Dad there as his biggest supporter.

“I occasionally ran a few of the miles with him depending on my own training at the time as I was preparing for Dublin marathon. So, I kept a good eye on him. And it was soon clear to me that he was doing great.”

And the rest, as they say, is history. He and Maebh set off last Sunday morning and Sam came home in 3hrs 38mins and Maebh, a former St Mary’s College girl, also currently studying at the University of Ulster in Belfast, completed her marathon challenge in 4hrs 53 minutes.

Last word to Michaela: "Sam Brattin is a true champion. It brings a smile to my face to say I know him, and I’m extremely proud to have been involved in this young man’s life to date. A life that is only just beginning. He’s a remarkable young man, a role-model that we should all be proud of . . . .’