Tireless Doncaster runner completes Edinburgh-London trek in honour of cancer victim pal

Runner Vicky Hogg ran more than 400 miles between Edinburgh and London in honour of pal Jody Oxley who died earlier this year after a nine year cancer battle, leaving two young children.

The 29-year-old bravely fought against the condition, with hundreds of tributes pouring in after her death was announced.

Vicky, who last year ran 100 marathons in 100 days, pulled all her kit behind her in a buggy in the 14-day run from Scotland to the capital, raising more than £4,000 along the way, finishing outside Buckingham Palace on Friday afternoon.

After the gruelling last 29 mile run into the capital she said: “This journey has been the toughest challenge I have done.

“It’s been an emotional journey with Jody at the forefront of my mind the whole way.”

“When I arrived at Buckingham Palace I was greeted with Jody’s family and my family and friends. It was mega and a lovely surprise. It was emotional.”

“Thank you to everyone who has supported and helped me along the way. You have all been amazing and I’m truly grateful. I would have struggled without you all.

“Thanks for all the messages and donations so far. From the bottom of my heart it means everything.”

She will be celebrating her achievements at The Hare and Hounds in Fishlake from 6.30pm on Saturday with all welcome.”

Ahead of her challenge, Vicky spoke movingly about Jody, saying: “She was such a gentle soul and adored by all who met her.

"She adored and cherished her lovely children with every inch of her being.

"Jody had a lot of treatment on and off over the last nine years and fought tirelessly against the cruel disease.”

Jody died on January 12, leaving behind two children, Lilly, eight and Marshall, 11, as well as a partner Andrew, parents Linda and Dave, as well as a sister, granddaughter and friends.

Added Vicky: “It breaks my heart that Andrew and their children will have to carry on doing life without Jody - Lilly and Marshall growing up without their mum it doesn’t bear thinking about. It’s so, so sad.”

Throughout her battle, Jody was supported by the Amber’s Legacy charity, which Vicky raised funds for.

She said: “Amber’s Legacy was set up by Amber’s dad Darren who lost Amber to cervical cancer at 22 years old. They are a wonderful charity doing wonderful things for other people battling cervical cancer.”

Vicky, who took on the run self supported, pulled a buggy with all her kit, including tent and food and ran an average of 36 miles a day to complete the challenge, with all money raised split between Jody and Andrew’s children Lilly and Marshall and Amber’s Legacy.

A carer for Doncaster Council’s Steps service, in 2021, she ran 900 miles between John O’Groats and Land’s End.

In 2018 she and some friends cycled John O’Groats to Lands’ End to raise money for the Sick Children’s Trust. And in 2020, in spite of the Covid pandemic she managed to fit in running coast to coast raising money for Dystonia.

And the former Doncaster Belles footballer recently had her story told in Ben Shepherd’s new book “Humble Heroes”.

In an interview published in 2019, Jody of Thorne explained how she had was diagnosed with cervical cancer after noticing “irregular bleeding” at the age of 22.

She was told she was "too young" to get checked on the NHS and decided to go private - and was shocked to be told she not only had cervical cancer, but would be dead in nine months without treatment.

She said: “I first noticed the bleeding in August 2016. I didn’t think much of it, because I’d just had the contraceptive implant in my arm and assumed it was a side-effect of that.

“I’d also given birth to my daughter Lilly 12 months earlier, so thought it might be my body still adjusting.

“But my symptoms continued to get worse – my mum told me to go to the doctor, but I kept putting it off, hoping it would sort itself out.

“I didn’t think it could be cancer – there was no family history, and every woman has irregular periods from time to time, I told myself.

“By Christmas I was in a bad way, with really heavy bleeding and discharge, so in the new year I finally booked to go and see my GP.

“By this time I’d read something on Facebook about cervical cancer, Googled my own symptoms and told her I thought this is what I had.

“She laughed at me when I suggested this, and told me it’s “just the implant”.

“I felt so angry and annoyed to be talked down to like that, like a child.

“She couldn’t deny my bleeding and discharge, of course, so sent me for swabs and an ultrasound to check for infections or an STD.

“I was in pain, I was bleeding massively and the discharge was getting worse, so something was obviously very wrong with me.

“My GP simply said that nothing indicated she should refer me to see a specialist, and I was too young to have a smear test.

“By now I was bleeding so much that no amount of sanitary pads could absorb it. I decided I had to take this into my own hands.

“I borrowed some money and rang the private Park Hill Hospital to pay for a smear.

“A few days later I finally got to see a consultant gynaecologist, who rolled his eyes when I explained I wanted a smear – again I presume because he thought I was too young.

“But the moment he got me on his table to examine me, he knew this was very, very serious.

“He asked how I was getting home, so I told him my partner Andy Knightson, a security worker, was outside with our daughter Lilly, who was asleep in the car.

“I called Andy, telling him to come in straight away. I asked the doctor “It’s cancer, isn’t it? Has it spread?”

“His silence spoke a thousand words. The nurse in the room had started crying, as did I, and when Andy came in, he started crying too.

“The consultant told me I’d need a biopsy and a CT scan, which were done in the next few days. Those confirmed my suspicions had been right all along.

“I had stage 2B locally advanced cervical cancer and a 5.6cm tumour on my cervix.

“The consultant told me I’d need a biopsy and a CT scan, which were done in the next few days. Those confirmed my suspicions had been right all along.

“I had stage 2B locally advanced cervical cancer and a 5.6cm tumour on my cervix.”

In January 2018, she had sugery to remove her cervix, womb, ovaries and surrounding lymph nodes.

“It also removed all the tumour but the margins on one side weren’t clear – so the surgeon told me there could still be cancer cells,” she said.

You can donate to Vicky’s fund HERE