5k Your Way - move against cancer

I know Emily well; we’re both triathletes, event organisers, and both feel passionate about doing what we can to grow a community of happy, healthy people.

The news that the lump in Emily’s breast was cancer was delivered at the end of 2020. During the initial appointment with the specialist, the conversation, held over the phone because of lockdown restrictions, turned to treatment options and explanations which is when Emily received an extra blow. Incorrectly, Emily was told that she would have to stop exercising; no more running, cycling, triathlon, or any activities believed to place undue stress on her body. For Emily, not exercising would mean not seeing friends, not having the crutch she leaned on when life was tough, not being part of her community, and having one of the significant components of her identity taken away.

Anyone who enjoys a sport or activity will understand the shock of being told to stop and find something else to do. On top of being told cancer is living inside your body is news I can’t wrap my mind around. ‘The news was totally devastating to me. This was my friendship group. It’s what I loved doing. And to be told I would have to change it all was heartbreaking.’

Fortunately for Emily, there now lives a wealth of information – medical research and anecdotal evidence – that counters the misinformation she was told. I expect the advice was a hangover from an era where exercise was still seen as merely an extra-curricular activity that only the fitness junkies, sports-mad, or people on ‘health kicks’ pursued. Perhaps the idea of raising the heart rate, placing muscles and bones under stress, and asking your body to do more than rest and recover may have seemed counter-productive for anyone facing the mental, emotional and physical battle through cancer treatment.

After the news, Emily read as much as she could find on breast cancer online via Breast Cancer UK and MacMillan and discovered that exercise was one of the best things she could do through her cancer treatment. Her research continued, specifically around her favourite sport, triathlon. Into Google she typed ‘Triathletes with cancer’ and found several case studies of athletes who had cancer on the British Triathlon website, all sharing the benefits of keeping training through treatment.

Next, she found Lucy Gossage, a 14-time Ironman world champion, ultra-marathon runner, oncologist, and author of several research papers on the role of exercise in cancer rehabilitation. This is where Emily first learned about the 5k Your Way, Move Against Cancer initiative set up by Lucy to help those who had finished cancer treatment regain their fitness. Emily reached out to Lucy through her Instagram profile to ask whether, as a fit and healthy triathlete, she would need to stop with having breast cancer.

‘She was so lovely and wrote a really long message back reassuring me that as long as I always listened to my body there was no reason for me to stop training. She was really clear that I shouldn’t expect to be able to run as fast or perform to the levels I did before but that my training could still continue. But the message was – if you don’t feel like doing something, don’t do it, and if you do feel like doing something, do it.’

The news helped Emily to start planning and preparing for her treatment – a course of chemotherapy and radiotherapy, all of which took place during lockdown.

‘I’d go [to Bulstrode House] every two weeks for chemo and almost started treating it like a training plan. I was very fortunate to be surrounded by a group of incredibly strong women who would come and take me running or out on my bike, or simply come and sit with me.’

During our chat for this article, Emily explained that after her first two treatments, everything from her mood to the pain in her body descended into a darkness she still struggles to explain. ‘You feel so low that if you’ve never been there before it’s a real shock… it’s a very dark, lonely place to be.’ The physical effects of the chemotherapy left her struggling to walk to the end of her road initially, but as the treatments progressed the after-effects lessened in their intensity.

‘It became “OK, so I’m going to feel rubbish on this day”, but I’d arrange for someone to come and take me out for a walk or out on the bike on the next day. For me, just getting out in the fresh air, getting moving, and keeping some sort of routine was a huge help.’

Emily’s experience of being advised to not exercise, and following her conversations with Lucy Gossage, inspired her to help others who may also have been told to give up their sport or activity.

‘I wanted to do something positive and love the idea of 5k Your Way where it doesn’t matter whether you run or jog or walk, you just come along and be outside with people who get it.’

Emily shared the idea with nurses at Bulstrode House who were keen to support the idea and to take part.

‘Everyone at Bulstrode deserves medals. They’re so positive and every time you go in there they treat you like you’re their number one priority. They must be some of the most resilient people on the planet and I was so happy to hear that they would be keen to come along and take part.’

Help and support to bring the initiative to Guernsey was also received by Jo Hollyer-Hill, from Bailiwick Social Prescribing, a team responsible for creating links to non-medical support like exercise, and social connection for adults wanting to improve health and wellbeing.

The first Guernsey 5k Your Way meet-up was held in July 2022 and is one of over 100 meets around the UK that encourages anyone impacted by cancer to ‘walk, jog, run, cheer or volunteer’. Locally, meet-ups vary in size with anything from five to 15 people joining each month. Some will run, some will walk, some complete the two-lap Parkrun circuit, and some opt for just one before joining the group for coffee and cake in the Beach House. Emily describes how many in the group have formed friendships and enjoy coming along to chat, while others aren’t quite ready to engage.

‘We’ll see Linda and Paul every month, who are amazing and bring cheer and laughter no matter what. But we also see people who don’t speak much but prefer to stay a couple of paces in front or behind everyone, and that’s OK too.’

I’m happy to report that Emily received a clean bill of health in 2023. As proof that fitness can return after cancer treatment, she even made the triathlon squad for the Guernsey 2023 Island Games, achieving a top-10 finish in one of the stand-out events of the week. Today, Emily continues to run and attend 5k Your Way meets while being a mum to two teenage children, working full-time as an office manager, and taking a lead role in the management of the Guernsey Triathlon Club. I’m not sure how she does it all but I do know that our community is richer for people like Emily who create opportunities for people to come together and get fitter in a way that feels OK, and leaves us feeling a little better than when we started.

If you or anyone you know is interested in joining the 5k Your Way, Move Against Cancer group, look for the blue flag at Parkrun on the last Saturday of every month, or search ‘5k Your Way Guernsey’ on Facebook.