Hi everyone, thank you for taking the time to read about Mum's story.
A personal note from Callum
In the last few years, both of my parents were diagnosed with cancer. In March 2024, I lost my Mum and best friend after she was diagnosed with stage 4 ALK+ Lung Cancer.
Seeing Mum fight for her life unequivocally changed the way I think about many things. One of those things is our ability to always keep pushing, no matter the circumstance.
My message is clear these days: Make tomorrow better. Leave it all out there. I want to show my Mum, Dad, friends, family, and anyone reading this, that when things go south - we can be brave. We always have the ability to take one more step. For as long as Mum was here, she saw me fight for a better tomorrow. When it gets hard during my challenges (which it will), I will remember how hard my Mum and millions of others have had to fight for their lives, and I will take one more step.
No matter what they say, there will always be hope. Thank you for your support.
Mum's story
Cancer is cruel. Very cruel. The concept of fairness will never make sense to me now. Mum was diagnosed with stage 4 ALK+ Lung Cancer in mid-2023. The treatments that typically work for the majority of patients, unfortunately, did not work for Mum. The cancer was defiant and moved quickly. In just 10 months, Mum was taken abruptly from my life. Mum believed we would find a cure even when the odds were stacked against us. She never stopped believing. She always had hope that we would find something to prolong the time we were harshly already given. I am so in awe of how she never let the diagnosis impact her character. I said this during my eulogy (the hardest moment of my life) at the funeral. The cancer couldn’t take the best of her. That cheeky giggle. That larger-than-life personality. As Mum's fight got harder, the days got tougher. Despite the diagnosis, Mum still faced every day with a spirit of kindness, love, and belief. I lost my best friend. Mum, I love you, more than you will ever know. You are never out of the fight.
There is no meaning in these random tragedies. The meaning is in us. It’s what we do afterward.
What started this journey?
At the beginning of 2024, I promised Mum I would run 12 Marathons around the world (one per month) to show her I was in the fight with her. She only made it to #2 out of #12. Following that, I dedicated everything I had within me to hold onto that promise. The promise is now kept.
Here’s how I felt at the end of that first challenge:
Wow. We did it. I say “we” because it has been a collective effort. I’ll never fully understand the love and support that came together for me this year. It has been real, and it has been powerful. The truth I have learned is so clear. That goodness and kindness lie within our reach at any moment - thank you for teaching me that. You lifted me up when I thought I had nothing more to give and you supported me for no logical reason other than being good people. The world can be a messy and unfair place, but I have seen the best of it through all of you. From the bottom of my heart, thank you.
Words cannot justify how hard this year has been. The journey has been a long and hard one - people will never know what it took to complete this challenge. To do it with a broken heart. To be consistent enough with training and what it took to avoid injury. I hope people have seen that when things went south, I found a way. That’s the message here. That was her message - I just carried it. That’s what she told me to do - not to waste this suffering. To believe when no one else would or could. To simply keep finding a way.
I love you, Mum. More than you will ever know. Keep finding a way. ❤️