Alice’s Story: Running in honour of my dad and the remarkable people who cared for him

Alice ran in the 2024 Edinburgh Marathon Festival and is lacing up her running shoes once again to run the half marathon for NHS Lothian Charity in 2025. Inspired by the incredible care that her late father received from the teams at the Edinburgh Cancer Centre, Alice wants to run in honour of her dad and say thank you to the remarkable people who cared for him.

This is Alice’s story:

“Around Christmas 2023, we found out my dad’s cancer had spread. It was terrible news for us as a family and made it a difficult start to 2024.

“I felt helpless, as there was nothing I could do when we received the news about dad’s cancer spreading. Even though I had been running for a while, I had never run for charity and raised money before this. Running and raising money felt like something positive I could do during such difficult time. When thinking about who I could raise money for, it seemed like an obvious choice to support the Edinburgh Cancer Centre.

“I signed up to do the half marathon in May 2024 as part of the Edinburgh Marathon Festival. When I shared what I was doing with my dad he was chuffed. My dad was always so supportive of my running. My dad told all his friends and they even donated to my page! My mum, my sister and my dad came to watch me run on the day and waved me off from the start line.

“I found it a tough run on the day because of the weather – it was pouring rain, and a strong wind, which made the run even harder. What got me through it and kept me going were the crowds. Despite the bad weather, incredible people still lined the streets with signs, cheering and handing out sweets. They gave me a boost. All the supporters kept my spirits high.

“I was relieved to have finished and very proud to do it. I was excited to get warm too! I know times are tough for people right now, but people gave so generously. I felt a sense of pride to know I had raised money, which added to my sense of achievement.

“Sadly, my dad passed away in September 2024. It was a really tough time for me, but running made me feel like I was doing something, and that’s what makes taking part in this run special to me. It was such a positive experience that I signed up again for 2025 and will once again be running for NHS Lothian Charity.”

Thanks to Alice, and the generosity of people like her, we’re able to support innovative projects both within the Edinburgh Cancer Centre and across NHS Lothian that improve patient outcomes and experience. This includes our widely used, and much appreciated, complementary therapy service.

Complementary therapy works alongside conventional medical treatments to assist with a range of conditions such as pain, nausea and fatigue, and it can help with emotional wellbeing, reducing anxiety, stress. It can give a sense of control and empowerment to cancer patients.

One NHS Lothian cancer patient shared their experience:

I learned how to empty my mind and came out feeling so relaxed and refreshed. I felt like a different person.”

This kind of positive impact is what drives Anne and Moira, who have been part of the complementary therapy team at the Western General Hospital for over 20 years, working in oncology and palliative care. Moira explains:

We find our role providing complementary therapy very rewarding, our services rely on charitable donations from amazing people like Alice. Thank you, Alice, we are very grateful to you and anyone else who has fundraised to help us provide this service to cancer patients when they are staying in the hospital and in need of additional comfort and relaxation.

“We’re incredibly grateful to all our supporters, whose generosity makes a real difference to patients, families, and staff across NHS Lothian.”