Starting Again: I Found My Strength In Moving
By Naz Wardle-Bi
Oct 28, 2025
My Route To 250: How 5k Your Way and parkrun helped me find my fitness
Growing up I liked the outdoors but was never particularly active. I played badminton a bit and swam a bit but that was it really. I could never have imagined that one day I’d be about to notch up my 250th parkrun…
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When I was diagnosed with cancer in my mid 40s, it came completely out of the blue. A sore stomach and a few trips back to the GP resulted in a CT scan that revealed a big tumour on my kidney. I was told it was inoperable and that I’d probably have six months to live. It was a big shock although I wasn’t as devastated as some people might be. I just wanted to get on with things and my gut instinct was “what’s next then?” My partner and I quickly got married – we did it at home as I’d lost so much weight – and that gave me a lift. I began treatment the day after our wedding and the chemo started to shrink the tumour. That gave us hope although it was short-lived when the tumour started to grow again. When we switched to another chemo and it finally did the trick I was then ready for surgery. The tumour was removed – along with one kidney, a bit of pancreas and a bit of liver – and it was touch and go for a while. I don’t remember much about it to be honest. I woke up and found I had a stoma which was a surprise. But – I was alive.
I hadn’t done any exercise before or during treatment but my wife would push me around the park in a wheelchair which I enjoyed. When I was starting to get better and attend radiotherapy I found a leaflet in the radiotherapy department for a group called CARE (Cancer And Rehabilitation Exercise) – a group-based exercise initiative for anyone at any stage of their cancer recovery or treatment. I decided to go along and I met many others there who were recovering from cancer. I started to get active and made friends. One of them – Lizzie – persuaded a few of us to go along to a new movement group called 5k Your Way which was just starting up at Nottingham’s Forest Rec parkrun. It was the brainchild of Lucy Gossage, one of the oncologists who treated me.
That was the very first 5k Your Way! It took me 45 minutes to complete the 5k route but I did it! I started to go to 5k Your Way every month and then I discovered parkrun so I began to do parkrun on all the other Saturdays. Quite quickly I felt the benefits of the walk, the jog, the run.
When I first left the hospital I wasn’t even allowed to pick up a kettle! I wasn’t meant to bend or lift or exert myself. Going to CARE then 5k Your Way then parkrun gave me options of how to move which was great. I felt I immediately had a community around me that understood, that knew it wasn’t about winning. It’s about being out, enjoying yourself and doing your best. 5k Your Way and parkrun are an important part of my toolkit for recovery. In the early days I thought I was dying. Now I’m running every Saturday!
There’s so much about 5k Your Way and parkrun that I like. The people. The exercise. The ease of going along to something without having to make any decisions – just turn up and go at your own pace. You’re all in it together, all starting and finishing at the same place. It’s social, simple, wholesome and joyful. It provides consistency in my week, even if I’m having a bad one. It’s something to put on my calendar, something to look forward to. 5k Your Way and parkrun give me a sense of belonging and it’s become a habit. You could say it’s become addictive for me! 
Whenever we go on holiday I’m always looking for a nearby parkrun – numerous locations from Oban to Sicily!
Over the past 8 years I’ve felt my fitness changing. Unbelievably I now run the 5k route in 26 minutes! I’m aware that I’m one of the lucky ones – I’ve survived my cancer. My oncologist signed me off two years ago. I still have a stoma, still have problems but I’m here. I now help run a stoma group (5k Your Way inspired me to give something back and help others).
Having attended that very first 5k Your Way group, who would have thought that eight years on there would be over 130 groups across the country? 5k Your Way isn’t just for people living with cancer – it’s also for family, friends and healthcare workers. And who would have thought that I’d be about to run my 250th parkrun at the end of this month?! My wife Litza started parkrunning with me and she’s actually now faster than me! She’ll also be doing her 250th parkrun on 31st October – 5k Your Way day. 
And that’s not all – Poulam (Professor Patel, who saved my life) says he actually started running more because of 5k Your Way! It was amazing to be running with Poulam who had just been treating me. The impact of 5k Your Way and parkrun just keeps on spreading…
Cancer is a very personal journey but recovery is best as a team. And I’d really like to thank my team: Litza, my family and friends, 5k Your Way, CARE, parkrun, Nottingham NHS health trust (especially Prof Poulam Patel and the surgeons), Macmillan and everyone who spreads kindness!
