Oxfordshire woman with stage four cancer to run the marathon

Runner, mother and Oxfordshire resident Sarah Demirtges has raised £14,000 for Maggie’s, the national cancer support charity, while living with adrenal cancer.

The diagnosis came in 2020 during the height of the pandemic.

Mrs Demirtges said: “It took me two years before I went to Maggie’s because I had to work up the courage to go in but when I did, I found care, compassion and community.

“Maggie’s is a sanctuary and it’s made a huge difference.

“I have met amazing fellow patients and carers, had brilliant advice, attended workshops and more.

“They have even supported me with how to speak with my children and just to always be honest.”

Despite her diagnosis, she is determined to complete the marathon, calling it a ‘wild goal’ she felt she had to pursue.

Her husband Rob and sons James, 17, and Ed, 15, have supported her throughout.

She said: “I’ve always been quite a determined person and last year, when I told my husband Rob that I’d applied to do the London Marathon in 2026 he just rolled his eyes and said ‘of course you have’.

“Rob and the boys are used to me making my mind up about something and doing it – even if I am on active cancer treatment.”

Although she once completed a Tough Mudder and a couple of 10K races more than 20 years ago, she hadn’t run regularly in years.

She eased back into training with 5Ks and progressed to running 11 miles by November.

In December, she learned her tumours were growing again and that she would be taken off mitotane, the treatment she’d been on for five years.

She also tore a calf muscle around the same time, forcing her to pause training, but she said she is slowly returning to running.

Her cancer has since spread to her lungs.

She completed five rounds of chemotherapy last year, though the treatment was not successful.

She will hopefully be offered a new immunotherapy treatment alongside a different chemotherapy treatment called temozolomide.

Despite her health challenges, she focuses on living life fully.

She enjoys dinners with friends, watching her sons play sport and walking the family’s dogs.

On difficult days, she says, running feels less like a chore and more like a gift.

Ms Demirtges said: “I want people to know that even if you have cancer, you can still do things, you can set ‘wild goals’ and you shouldn’t let anything stop you.

“I’m doing this for me and Rob and my boys and for Maggie’s.”