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Conan’s story with 5k Your Way

February 2024: To mark World Cancer Day we’re sharing an inspiring story of one 5k Your Way (5KYW) participant who has been hugely impacted by joining in with this community-based initiative… 

How do you go from struggling to walk, breathing difficulties, low confidence and oh, by the way you’re undergoing treatment for a tumour – to proving yourself utterly wrong?! Last October, at the launch of Scotland’s first 5KYW group at Elder Park parkrun, Conan McGhee, 24, was about to find out…

“I was having treatment at the Beatson Cancer Centre in Glasgow”, says Conan, “when my cancer nurse Julie suggested I go along the new 5KYW group at the city’s Elder Park. I was experiencing shortness of breath and she felt it might be a good, regular way to monitor my progress. I thought it wasn’t really my kind of thing and I wasn’t interested but Julie kept mentioning it and finally my girlfriend Milly, who is a keen walker (and talks to everyone!) persuaded me to give it a try…

I didn’t know much about 5KYW before but I read some personal stories on social media from people who had gone along to their local group and that inspired me to go too. I pitched up on the day and everyone was so welcoming. Before my surgery and treatment I had struggled to walk and I was lacking in confidence so I had no idea what to expect of myself. Julie said for me to take my time, do as much or little as I wanted and stop when I needed to. She and Milly walked with me and as we chatted away, with other walkers and runners all around us, I found that I wasn’t really thinking about my tumour or worrying about how I’d manage the walk. Thankfully this course is flat because hills would be a struggle for me just now.

Throughout the whole course I felt relaxed. Beforehand I was worried that I’d be in the way of the fast runners but that wasn’t the case at all. The 5KYW Ambassadors were so encouraging, telling me to take things at my own pace and not worry about others. They were right and I found that I was definitely taking it on in MY way. If the course you’re doing has several laps you genuinely forget which lap you’re on. By the time I was on the third lap I thought: “I can actually do this!”

My cancer nurse Julie was so delighted that I had not just come along and given it a try but actually managed to walk the whole 5k! Her delight and surprise pushed me to keep going! She’d seen me at my worst through cancer treatment – I’d had heart failure, I struggled to walk, the surgeon thought I’d be bed bound and my confidence was low – and now I could do a 5k! I felt really proud of myself and in the car on the way home Milly burst into tears, as did my mum later on!

One of the unexpected benefits of 5KYW is the mental impact it has on you. When you go along to a group you meet people affected by cancer or who are there to help make a difference but you find that you don’t really talk about it. When you’re undergoing treatment so much of your life is about scans and blood tests and everyone is talking about it. At a 5KYW meet up you actually talk about other stuff so that cancer ends up being a kind of unspoken thing that you all have in common.

When I went to the November meet-up my consultant came along too and he was very happy with what I had achieved. I actually did the walk five minutes faster so I was delighted! But it’s not just about the monthly meet-ups – I’ve become more motivated in general. We went to Amsterdam in December and I did loads of walking! I’m keen to try a bit of running at the next 5KYW meet-up. If someone had said to me six months ago I’d be walking 5k and thinking about running parts of it I wouldn’t have believed them!

When it gets close to the end of the month I find I’m looking forward to 5KYW. My tumour has shrunk, I’m fitter and I’m more confident. If anyone reading this thinks it’s not for them what I would say is: just try it once because you’ll probably be really surprised! The Ambassadors are so supportive and you can go at your own pace. It really is all about YOU, setting your OWN little goals and doing it YOUR way”. 

5k Your Way is an initiative provided by Move Against Cancer charity.

It’s a community-based support group with a difference for anyone impacted by cancer: people living with and beyond cancer, their families and friends, health care professionals and those who have lost someone to cancer.

Participants are encouraged to come along to walk, jog, run, cheer or volunteer at designated parkruns on the last Saturday of the month. Do as much or as little as you wish – YOUR way! We currently have over 100 5KYW groups in the UK and Ireland. To find your nearest group click here .