Burgess Hill man overcomes stroke to run London Marathon in memory of stepmother who had 14 brain tumours

Paul Weller, 37, ran the 26.2-mile race in memory of stepmother Jenny Weller, who died last year after she was diagnosed with 14 brain tumours in just 18 months.

Jenny, a personal trainer from Burgess Hill, launched a series of fundraisers for Brain Tumour Research and ALK Positive UK after her terminal cancer diagnosis, raising more than £26,000 for Brain Tumour Research under the banner WellerFest.

Paul, who was unable to train for six weeks following his stroke, was determined to run the marathon to raise more money for Brain Tumour Research.

He said: “Dad was worried about me running the marathon, the same way that he was worried about Jen doing Wellerfest, but I didn’t want to defer. I’ve always said ‘if Jen can do what she did, then I can run the marathon’.”

He finished the marathon in just over six hours.

Paul, a former firefighter, who now works as a dispatcher for South East Coast Ambulance Service, continued: "I’ve got a replacement ankle and was in a lot of pain after about 13 miles so it was about managing it from that point.”

He said he ran the marathon in 2021 with a 20kg breathing apparatus on his back, while Jen watched and supported him.

Paul said: “I had really wanted to take more in because I didn’t feel I made the most of it last time, but I spent too much of it feeling emotional. I remembered certain points where Jen had been when I did the last one and that brought back a lot of memories.”

Jen was 35 in September 2020 when she was diagnosed with a primary tumour in her lung, five secondary tumours in her brain, and others in her neck and pelvis. She had a craniotomy to remove the largest brain tumour, receiving targeted drug therapy and radiotherapy to slow the growth of the others. But her health deteriorated after she discovered she had a further nine brain tumours. Jen died in a hospice in May last year.

Carol Robertson, national events manager for Brain Tumour Research, said: “Jen was a brave and inspirational woman who touched the hearts of all who knew her. She helped raise tens of thousands of pounds for research and continued to put others first by doing what she could to raise awareness of this cruel disease right up until the end. She would have been proud of Paul for running on Sunday, as are we. We can’t thank him enough for his continued support.”

Carol said brain tumours kill more children and adults under the age of 40 than any other cancer but only one percent of the national spend on cancer research has been allocated to this disease.

Brain Tumour Research funds sustainable research at dedicated centres in the UK. It also campaigns for the Government and cancer charities to invest more in research into brain tumours to speed up new treatments for patients and find a cure. Visit 2023tcslondonmarathon.enthuse.com/pf/paul-weller to support Paul’s fundraising or visit www.braintumourresearch.org.