Stuart Finlay is running in memory of his mother and for the Marie Curie team who cared for her

“The facilities are excellent and you can go to be with loved ones at any time. Anyone would want to be able to die in comfort and that’s what Marie Curie helped my mother to do.”

Stuart has spent the past nine months training to honour his mother’s memory and the extraordinary care she received from Marie Curie.

Marie Curie, the UK’s leading end-of-life charity, is the official Charity of the Year for the 2026 TCS London Marathon. Every three minutes, someone dies without the care they need and the charity wants to change that.

“It was almost fate,” Stuart says. “I was sitting with Mum in the hospice when the opportunity to run for Marie Curie flashed up on my phone. I turned to her and said, ‘I’m going to enter and see what happens.’ I got the call in May.”

Stuart’s mother, Debbie, lived with neuroendocrine cancer for five years, a rare form of the disease that demands specialist understanding and management. Though she had received treatment through the NHS, her care needs grew significantly.

“The NHS is incredible – my wife, Sally, works for them so I understand how good they are – but they simply didn’t have the capacity to give Mum the level of care she needed,” Stuart explains. “When the offer came for a place at the Marie Curie hospice in Penarth, it was a shock. None of us realised we were at the stage of end-of-life care.”

The shock quickly turned into a sense of profound gratitude.

“As soon as she got there, you could just tell the difference through the level of care and attention to detail. She had her own room overlooking Cardiff Bay – the most stunning view. You couldn’t have asked for a better place.”

“The thing you don’t realise until you go into a hospice is how hard that must be to do as a job. Patients are there for two or three weeks. For Mum, it was nearly 10 weeks. The staff were amazing from start to finish.”

Debbie was in the hospice over Christmas in 2024. The staff even organised a visit from the cast of the Cardiff pantomime, including Gethin Jones. Debbie was a big fan of the TV presenter.

Reverend Gareth, Spiritual Care and Chaplaincy Coordinator for Marie Curie, became a trusted presence for the family. He visited daily and when Debbie passed, in January 2025, he led her funeral service. Stuart’s dad, John, has also received counselling through Marie Curie.

“We’ve built lifelong connections with the people there,” says Stuart.

“It was a shock. It’s the thing you hear about all the time. I was fit and healthy, and all of a sudden this came along. I was diagnosed in February 2024, had surgery in April and chemotherapy by May. It was a bit of a whirlwind,” he recalls.

Balancing his own treatment with caring for his mum gave him a powerful perspective he carries with him on every training run.

“When running gets tough, my mind often drops back into sitting by her bedside, the things we used to talk about. It passes the time very quickly.”

A lifelong sports lover, from football and rugby to a career in golf, Stuart says running has become more than exercise. Despite the emotional and physical challenges of the past year, he has thrown himself into marathon training with quiet determination.

“My eldest son worked out the other day that I’ve done 83 training runs since June. I am now piling on the mileage and it is becoming a bit real.”

Stuart’s fundraising target began at £2,500. He passed it in a matter of weeks. 

“People knew what we’d been through as a family. Friends, family, colleagues – everyone has been really supportive.”

Some of the donations have been anonymous, including one for £250.

“I would love to know who those people are, so I could thank them properly,” he says.

Stuart has now raised over £5,000 –  which could fund over 217 hours of expert nursing care for families who need it most.

“If more people could contribute, we could have more nursing care!”