Bec Brown

Bec is a distance runner with now 3 London Marathons under her belt. But there was a day when London was a just a dream. Unlucky through the Official Ballot, after years of receiving rejection emails and using her running as a way to keep fit, Bec decided it was time to take things into her own hands. She set her sights on trying to run a Good for Age qualifying time at The Manchester Marathon. Training hard for 6 months with the support of her family, friends and of course this amazing running group. Bec switched her lie-ins for early morning training runs and filled her weekend mornings with long social runs. After months of dedicated work Bec lined up in the starting corrals in Manchester and grabbed that Good for Age time.

12 months later Manchester was swapped for London and she was ready to run the race she had always dreamt about. Supported by her husband and 2 children, she ran a good enough time to guarantee her a place the following year!

But this second time was going to be a whole different fight.....

The dust had barely settled from the high of the marathon when Bec and her family were dealt a devastating blow — her husband Nathan was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer. Her rock. Her biggest supporter. Her best friend. The one who stood on the side-lines with their kids, cheering her through 26.2 miles. Suddenly, their lives were turned upside down.

As with anyone whose been through the heartbreak of watching a loved one fight a terminal illness knows — everything changes. But through all the hospital visits, appointments, sleepless nights and emotional toll, Bec still found herself lacing up her trainers.

“Running was my release,” she says. “It cleared my head of all the constant thoughts and tasks I had to deal with every day. And by looking after myself — releasing those endorphins, even just for a little while — it meant I could look after him and our family with a focused mind.”

Training for a marathon is hard at the best of times. Add grief, caregiving, and trying to stay strong for everyone around you, and it becomes almost unimaginable.

“There were days I didn’t even want to get out of bed,” Bec admits. “But I didn’t have a choice. I had to keep showing up — for Nathan, for the kids, for myself. Every tough interval or long run just reminded me that I could do hard things. And that strength was something we all needed.”

Even when everything inside her wanted to stop — to walk away from running and rest — she didn’t. And that wasn’t just because she loves the sport. It was the people around her who held her up.

“My running friends got me through,” she says. “They didn’t just support me — they carried me. They gave me space to forget, even if just for a while, and helped me remember who I was beneath all the heartbreak.”

Standing on the start line in Greenwich for the second time in 2 years Bec was aiming to finish this 26.2 miles differently. She was not just here for a quicker time, but for a reason bigger than her own goals.

Since Nathan’s diagnosis, Bec got to understand the devastating effects this type of cancer has on so many people, as she tells us “Pancreatic Cancer is one of the most deadliest cancers, with only a 5 year survival rate of less than 7%. The Pancreatic Cancer UK charity relies heavily on donations and grants to continue their ground breaking research to identify early detection of pancreatic cancer, but also to provide support to individuals and families who are affected by this awful type of cancer”.

So on top of training, hospital visits and everything else life was throwing at her, Bec decided to fundraise and give back. Heartbreakingly, Nathan was too poorly by this point to be able to travel down to London, but amongst the support of her running friends and the Pancreatic Cancer UK volunteers, who cheered on the course, she crossed the finish line down the mall, having raised close to £6,000.

And…..she also bagged that PR too in 3:29:00 ! Nothing short of remarkable.. Recovering in the Pancreatic Cancer UK hospitality building, there were plenty of mixed emotions.. Joy at the amazing accomplishments Bec had achieved with running and fundraising, but also the realisation that time was running out and even though the marathon was over. The fight was not.

Just 10 weeks later, Nathan was gone.

When Nathan passed away, grief could’ve swallowed her. But Bec, true to form, kept going. And when she got another spot at the London Marathon for the following year in 2025, she didn’t hesitate.

“I’m always my own worst critic,” she says, “But I knew I had to do it. Nathan knew how important running was to me, even if the 4am alarms drove him mad! He always supported it — so I knew I had to carry on, for both of us.”

The third time she lined up at the start line of the London Marathon was different. The crowd was the same. The landmarks just as iconic. But this time, her biggest cheerleader wasn’t there.

“It was the hardest marathon I’ve ever done,” she says. “Emotionally, I was a mess. I cried at points throughout the race. I wanted to stop so many times. I felt like my head had gone completely.”

And yet, she kept going.

Even when the heat kicked in, when her legs cramped, when the miles felt impossibly long — Bec ran on. Tower Bridge tried to break her. Mile 22 nearly did. But a familiar voice on the side-lines gave her just enough to carry on. “You’re almost there,” her friend Craig said. “Four miles is not almost there, Craig!” she laughs now. “But I needed that push.”

Eventually, through the heat, tears and emotional weight of it all, Bec crossed that finish line.

“It was so emotional. This was the first marathon I couldn’t talk to Nathan about. He wasn’t there to hug at the end. That hurt — and it always will for every finish line i cross. And yeah, the runner in me was gutted about my time. I’d trained so hard, hit every session… but on the day, it just didn’t happen. I walked away with my second fastest time”

But the truth is, her time that day was never about a PB.

It was about showing up in the hardest season of her life. It was about running through grief, not away from it. It was about keeping a promise to herself, and to Nathan.

When asked what she’d say to someone else who is grieving — whose trying to keep going when the world feels broken — Bec doesn’t hesitate.

“Keep going,” she says. “As hard as it is, it’s so important to have something that’s just for you. Whether it gives you purpose, or just a moment of peace — don’t underestimate how much you matter. Especially if you’re the one holding it all together.”

Three London Marathons. Three totally different chapters of her life. One woman with endless heart and the courage to keep putting one foot in front of the other.

Bec doesn’t just run marathons — she runs through love, through loss, and through life. And that’s what makes her story so incredibly powerful.