After setting a Guinness World Record last year as the fastest woman to complete the London Marathon with an ileostomy, radio presenter Adele Roberts is now set to take on an even bigger running challenge – tackling all of the ‘big six’ marathons across the globe.
The DJ and TV personality was left with a stoma – where surgeons create an opening in the abdomen so the body’s waste can be collected into a bag – following treatment for bowel cancer. She now hopes to set another record with the Abbott Six Star challenge.
“Around the world, there’s six major marathons and it’s a very special medal if you managed to complete them all – and so I’m going to try and run all six major marathons within eight months,” says Roberts, 45, who finished third on ITV’s Dancing on Ice in March.
“I’ll start in Berlin in September and finish in London next year in April [the other four marathons in the challenge are Chicago, New York, Tokyo and Boston]. And if I do that, I think I’ll be the first woman with a stoma to ever do that. So I’ll try and set a record again, along with raising lots of money for charity.”
Roberts, who was diagnosed with cancer in late 2021 and given the all-clear in 2022 following treatment, raised over £10,000 last year for The Attitude Magazine Foundation, which supports LGBTQ+ causes. Her record-breaking run also shone a spotlight on bowel cancer in younger age groups and helped break down stigma around living with a stoma.
“Sadly, a lot of people struggle with stomas. They don’t know what their bodies are capable of, and sometimes there’s a lot of shame associated with [having them],” says Roberts, who is a judge on this year’s GoCardless JustGiving Awards which celebrate remarkable fundraisers. “I wanted to reclaim stomas, show how amazing they are, show that you can be active.”
This is still a big motivation for the Merseyside-born broadcaster, who lives with her long-term partner Kate Holderness and once again aims to raise funds for The Attitude Magazine Foundation as well as Cancer Research UK.
Thinking of the challenge ahead, she says: “You know when you’re like, is this really happening, am I doing it?! It’s scary, it’s daunting, because I am 45, I am still recovering from cancer, I do have a stoma, it’s not going to be easy. But I just know what it did for me running the London Marathon, and how much it helped me spiritually and helped me keep going.
“Also, sadly at the start of this year I lost my mum,” Roberts adds. “And I think it’ll be the perfect tribute to her, just to keep me focused and looking forward, and hopefully she’ll be with me.”
This is also why she’s thrilled to be involved with the 2024 JustGiving Awards – because Roberts knows how much taking on a fundraising mission can mean for people.
The fundraising platform received almost 20,000 nominations of fundraisers and crowdfunders from across the country with inspirational stories for the awards.
Roberts and fellow celebrity judges – including Strictly Come Dancing pro Amy Dowden, paralympic swimmer Ellie Simmonds and presenter Sunetra Sarker – were tasked with whittling these down to 21 finalists. Members of the public can now vote online, before the winners are announced in September.
“We had an amazing afternoon, just hearing about amazing people and realising there’s a lot of good in the world. There was lots of crying, lots of laughter as well,” recalls Roberts, whose book – Personal Best: From Rock Bottom To The Top Of The World – was published earlier this year.
“That’s the good side of fundraising, it was the same for me as well – even though it was a sad reason that I was having to fundraise, there were lots of joyous moments.”
Looking back now on what taking on last year’s marathon meant to her: “It gave me a reason to keep going,” Roberts says, tearing up a little. “Sometimes I go to say things and it really moves me… I think it’s because I still feel in the process of recovering from cancer, and that’s probably something I’ll have to live with for the rest of my life.
“I think you just need to constantly focus on positive things and looking forward. And fundraising or setting goals is something that enables you to get up out of bed and not think too much about the past.”
Six marathons in eight months will be tough, but for Roberts, running has become a vital “release”. It’s also a constant reminder of how far she’s come.
“I feel like I dealt with cancer and chemo the same way I dealt with the marathon – it’s just step-by-step, just keep going. It is a marathon, not a sprint,” she says. “You do have up days, you have down days – and that’s what running marathons is like, it is a metaphor for life. It is like a perfect self-help tool in a way, because it helps you physically and mentally and it teaches you a lot about yourself.
“When I woke up from my surgery, I couldn’t even get out the bed,” she recalls. “I remember the doctor saying to me, ‘Try and do your best to get out of bed when you can because if you lie down too long, you’ll get fluid on your lungs and it’ll make you ill’.
“There was a blue chair next to my bed and I thought – right, tomorrow I’m going to try my hardest to get out of bed and get on that chair. To me, that was the most important marathon I’ve ever done in my life.
“And that’s what I just used to do every day, little bit by bit, what can you achieve today? So I got on the chair the next day, then the day after that I managed to get to the window. Then I managed to get to the toilet. And I just kept chipping away at it.
“I hope that side of my story helps people as well. Because you don’t have to aim for a marathon, you don’t even have to know you’re going to do a marathon, because I didn’t know that. I just knew I’d try and go a little bit further each day.”
Winners of the 2024 GoCardless JustGiving Awards will be announced on September 18 at the London Roundhouse. Voting closes August 16. Visit justgiving.com/hub/happening-now/justgiving-awards
