I Just Ran A Half-Marathon (Part 2)
(1-year+post-hearty transplant, Great North Run, Newcastle, September 2024)
“After my transplant, I made a little promise to myself, that every achievement I pass by the Grace of God, will be in remembrance of my donor who said “yes” to organ donation.” (IT’S COMING TO NOTTS, 24th Feb 2024)
THE GREAT NORTH RUN: recap
I just completed my 1st ever half-marathon. 13.1 miles in the weather conditions that make England, well… England.
But it wasn’t the fact that this was my 1st half-marathon, that made it special. Or even the fact that this was the largest half-marathon in the world.
It was the fact that it was my 1st half-marathon, with a beautiful stranger’s heart.
In this blog, I share the emotions I experienced, as I ran, walked and crawled through the beautiful Geordieland, and some of my favourite highlights from the day.
A Beast of A Breakfast
8am, I had two breakfasts. The first, was a bowl of porridge and a cup of tea. And the second, was my morning meds.
Both meals were rather hearty.
In fact, they were so hearty, that I didn’t even feel hungry until 8pm, in the evening (!) I know porridge provides slow-releasing energy, and can keep you sustained throughout a run…but still. 12 hours later, and surely my hunger hormone should’ve gotten back to work, and made me eat like a monster.
Maybe I’ve officially broken my insides. And I got a medal for it too. Yippee!
Tell me something I don't know
After the breakfast that could’ve sustained me for days it seemed, I made my way over to the starting line for the GNR.
At this point, I put my cape on, and there I was – out of my comfort zone and exposed to the world. Everyone knew my name. Everyone knew that I was “running with a beautiful new heart”, and therefore everyone knew I had a heart transplant. (Might as well have put my date of birth and NHS number on too)
All-in-all, I felt like an open book. I was telling my story without saying a single word.
A tribute to my donor
The Great North Run, to me, was a chance to silently pay tribute to my beautiful heart-gifting angel, and to show the world, that organ donation not only saves, but can transform lives.
If, by sharing my story, through a bit of old, un-used fabric (thanks mama), I could encourage just a single person to discuss their organ donation wishes with their loved ones, then it would have been worthwhile. If I show someone what I can now do, as a result of a “yes” to organ donation, then it would have been worthwhile. If I could make just one of the 60,000 people running the GNR, smile, then it would have been worthwhile.
Time to show the world the strength of this beautiful, new heart. Bismillah. Great North Run, here we go.
And we're off... and it's raining... a lot.
Instead of stressing about getting injured throughout this 13.1 mile course, I was more worried that people would mistake my cape for something belonging to Count Dracula. The rain was most definitely going to smudge my artwork – why? Because I made the sensible decision of using dry-erase instead of permanent markers on my cape, for the sole reason that it would lOoK mOrE pRetTy. Valid excuse, but I forgot that I live in England.
But, as we started the run-walk-crawl, I had about 20+ people approach me. It was heart-warming to hear their remarks – praising me for doing this, saying they are inspired, stating that they are on the organ donor register, congratulating me, saying how their loved ones are going through heart failure and that I am an inspiration to them – all of these comments reminded me, that I could never have been here, had my beautiful organ donor and their family said “no”. The memory of my donor stayed with me throughout my aches and pains and through my tears, right at the very end at the finish line.
The cape stayed intact to the very end – a beautiful analogy for the gift of life – a gift that keeps on giving.And at last I see the... SEA!!
After successfully fulfilling the obligation of the Oggy, Oggy, Oggy chants, under every bridge, we were finally near the end, despite our shoes and socks, being drenched and rather soggy.
When I had the first glimpse of the sea from the top of a hill, I almost cried. Subhan’Allah. The hard work was definitely paying off – it was a stunning view. If you’re familiar with seaside towns, you’ll always note a change in the colours and builds of houses near coastal regions. South Shields was no different. If I was walking towards the end, I promise it wasn’t because I was tired – it was because I was admiring the views and the houses. Fun fact: the houses are built different because of the salty water and harsher winds at the coastline.
800m left
I could see the finish line. It was so close, yet still so far. I was moving at snail pace at this point. My feet were done. My legs were done. I was scared I might just trip over my own feet from the exhaustion.
I started to get emotional. I suddenly realised, that I had almost finished my longest ever distance on foot, with my new heart. After all those months of building up my strength to this point - keeping my new heart in the best of health, as best as I possibly could, despite the complications of post-transplant life, giving us infection, after infection, after infection – I had almost achieved a dream that once seemed impossible.
Just when I started to tear up, there it was… another camera.
(Smile for the camera? No.)
In all honestly, I’m so happy they caught me in this state. It represents how life will always be full of ups and downs.
I realised there would be more photos being taken at the end, so I quickly wiped my tears because I didn’t want the last few moments of my first ever half-marathon to be of me ugly crying…
It turned out to be my favourite photo.
A BIG FAT SMILE TO SHOW THE WORLD, YES, THIS GIRL CAN. AND THAT TOO, AFTER A HEART TRANSPLANT.
(a photo that screams, 'WE WERE DETERMINED, WE HAD FAITH, WE STOOD OUR GROUND WHEN PROBLEMS TRIED TO KNOCK US DOWN, WE DID IT')
THE END!!
ALLAHU AKBAR!! By the Grace of God, and the kindness of a stranger and their family, I had just completed my very 1st half-marathon with a new heart. 13.1 miles. 3 hours, 44 minutes later. Feeling absolutely no guilt about my time. A half-marathon is still a half-marathon.
For someone who had never attempted anything past 10km, this was amazing. Per mile, I was faster than I had anticipated, until the inclines slowed me down considerably in the 2nd half. I enjoyed the atmosphere, I enjoyed the rain, I enjoyed the sound of thousands of footsteps running past me, and I absolutely LOVED high-fiving all the little kids en route.
To be part of something so huge, felt like an achievement in itself. People coming from all over the country to the heart of Newcastle, raising awareness and money for some incredible charities.
The Great North Run 2024, was special, and I am grateful to have been a part of it.
Final remarks
I was always told, that transplant is not a cure. And as this first year has proved to me, it is full of unpredictable health “blips”. I continue to live every single day with that in mind, reminding myself often, that transplant is not a cure, and I could very much be back to square one in the blink of an eye.
For that reason, I try to instil gratitude into every single little opportunity that God gifts me. If future me told 1-day-post-transplant-me, that the very next year, I would be running around Newcastle with this beautiful, new, strong heart, I’d probably cry at the thought, and said “no, no, hun, that’s ridiculous - it’s impossible and unrealistic.”
Future me would’ve then slapped 1-day-post-transplant me, and said a cheesy quote like “Nothing in life is impossible, the word itself says, I’m possible!”. Then, on a more serious note, future me would’ve reminded 1-day-post-transplant me that things can seem impossible because we are human – it’s in our nature to see things as being challenging and ridiculous and impossible. God can pave the way, making the impossible, very much possible, if we trust in Him – He is the All-Mighty, after all. All He has to say is ‘Be! And it is’ [2:117; Qur’an].
So, just like that, by the Grace of God, and the kindness of my organ donor and their family, I just ran a half-marathon, with a beautiful new heart.
My wish and humble request
To end this blog series, I ask humbly for donations to a charity that is very close to my heart. (I will never get bored of heart puns, sorry not sorry).
Freeman Heart & Lung Transplant Association (FHLTA) has been the reason I have found a community of heart and lung warriors after my transplant. The charity gives support to families who are pre- and post- transplant, providing on-site accommodation for families to stay, whilst their loved ones are in the hospital.
Before I could complete this half-marathon, I had participated in the British Transplant Games, with the FHLTA team, Just seeing how organ donation can impact the lives of thousands of transplant patients, from young little children to older adults, was incredible. FHLTA welcomed me into their team, and made me feel like family.
As a charity that goes above and beyond for the transplant community, it would mean the world to me if you can contribute using the link below to my fundraising page, to keep this charity, and all its aims for the heart and lung transplant community, alive.
Thank you for reading! Follow my Heart-to-Heart Facebook page to keep up-to-date about future blog posts to come! Feel free to leave a comment, like and share :) Xxx
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