Streatham runner with brain tumour targets marathon record

Runner with brain tumour targets marathon record

A man with terminal brain cancer says it has become his "purpose in life" to break the world record for the most money raised by a marathon runner.

Iain Ward, 36, from Streatham in south London, was diagnosed with glioblastoma - an aggressive form of brain tumour – in 2020 after it was spotted during an MRI scan for a medical trial the previous year.

The content creator, who has more than 14 million social media followers, has already raised more than £350,000 for charity. He now hopes to surpass the current record of £2.3m, set in 2011, when he runs the New York City Marathon in November.

Mr Ward has completed 18 marathons since his diagnosis, as well as a string of endurance challenges.

Last month he ran 32 half-marathons in 32 consecutive days across Ireland's 32 counties, all while wearing a 32lb (about 14kg) weighted vest.

After always being fit and healthy and having "zero symptoms", Mr Ward described the discovery as "a freakish amount of luck", for if he had not been part of the trial, he believes the tumour may have gone undetected.

"It's been extremely satisfying because I never really had a purpose in my life… and I do now," he said.

"There's more of a feeling of why I'm doing something and how it actually has a positive effect on the world."

"I just see it as problem-solving where a lot of people are suffering through cancer, and I want to raise money to help that and set a decent example of how important fitness is in general."

Originally from High Wycombe, Buckinghamshire, Mr Ward moved to London in 2014, working as a fitness instructor and taking part in paid medical trials.

A scan ahead of one such trial in 2019 revealed a tumour which doctors initially thought was benign.

"If it was an MRI scan on any other part of my body, it wouldn't have been detected," he said.

Six months later, further tests confirmed it was cancerous and growing.

He underwent brain surgery before being given a prognosis with an average life expectancy of about five years.

"I could be dead in a year or I could be on the far end of the average life expectancy. It could be up to 10, maybe even 15 years," Mr Ward said.

"I didn't really have time to grieve or get very fearful… it was just such a shock that I couldn't take it in."

During the Covid pandemic, Mr Ward began sharing his story online after launching a YouTube channel.

He later turned his focus to marathon fundraising, inspired by the Guinness World Record set by Baptist minister Steve Chalke in 2011.

He said: "I thought I might as well raise some money for charity while talking about it.

"I looked up the record for the most money raised running a marathon and decided, 'Yep, I'll beat that'."

Mr Ward said he has met Mr Chalke, who raised the record total for Oasis UK during the London Marathon.

"He gave me loads of advice on how to go about it but he said that if I win it, he's going to win it back off me," he joked.

His fundraising efforts have included running a 52-mile (about 83km) "double marathon" on a treadmill in 12 hours during chemotherapy, as well as completing six major marathons in 2024.

He also features in The Endfluencers, a new documentary by end-of-life charity Marie Curie and retailer Superdrug, which profiles people using social media to share their experiences of terminal illness.

"I want to be treated like a normal person," he said.