A full-time mum from Blackheath whose 32 year old husband underwent treatment for bowel cancer last year will be getting into her running shoes and pushing her body to the limit later this month for one of the UK’s biggest annual sporting events, the London Marathon.

Phillippa Burt, 33, whose mother also ran in two marathons while recovering from breast cancer, has been pounding the streets of South East London in preparation to join the thousands of other runners tackling the 26-mile route around London on April 13th.

She hopes to raise £5,000 for charity Beating Bowel Cancer which will help toward the charity’s work supporting patients and their families.

Phillippa’s husband Chris was only 31 when diagnosed with bowel cancer back in April 2013. She said: “As you can imagine, it was a huge shock to find out Chris had bowel cancer at the young age of 31. He had experienced bleeding for the previous 3 years on and off and had been to see the doctors a total of 3 times (over 3 years) before he was taken seriously. He was always told he was too young, too fit and too slim to have cancer, and that it must have been haemorrhoids.

"I am incredibly proud of my husband and the way he has dealt with having bowel cancer at such a young age. He has had surgery twice and chemotherapy for six months and still continues to work and be an incredible father to our two year old daughter, Isabel. We feel that it is incredibly important that awareness of bowel cancer symptoms are raised for men and women, both old and young. It is not just an 'old persons' cancer anymore and it's about time that symptoms are taken seriously, no matter the age.”

Phillippa, a keen runner, has been in training for the event since December and says she was “terrified” about taking part until she completed a 20 miles practice run.

She added: “My 60 year old mum did two marathons after she recovered from breast cancer and the morning after Chris' operation to remove his tumour, we were watching the London Marathon, in his hospital bed, so I took it as a sign. Now I’m really excited about the challenge.”

Danielle Chamberlain, Events Fundraising Manager for Beating Bowel Cancer, said: “We were incredibly touched by Phillipa’s family experience of bowel cancer which shows the importance of charity’s like ours which support bowel cancer patients and their families.

"Only through the generous support of fundraisers like Phillipa can we continue to help more patients. We’re wishing her the best of luck for the marathon and we’ll be cheering her on from the side-lines.”

To donate to Phillipa’s fundraising effort, please visit: www.justgiving.com/Phillippa-Burt1

Based on information supplied by Robert Ince.