Series 2 - Why Run? podcast - 29 October 2022

Tony started running in his mid-40s to improve his physical health and fitness…only to discover he was rather good at it. Having always been competitive, he was soon entering events and went on to complete marathons in under three and a half hours, so he was a pretty serious contender.

Five years ago though, Tony experienced sharp pain in his groin and on investigation, was told that he had terminal prostate cancer and was given two years to live. Such profound and devastating news changes life forever. Learning to live with prostate cancer…with the side effects of his treatment (which is basically chemical castration)… and finding any purpose in living….has not been easy.

With counselling and the support of his family, Tony has had to completely reshape his approach to life. Now he lives every day like it’s his last and lives life to the full. And through all this, Tony has kept running.

Tony says that when someone is diagnosed with cancer, their family’s immediate response is to wrap them up in cotton wool, but all the medical evidence is that movement is essential for physical and mental health and recovery.

To promote the importance of movement when you have a cancer diagnosis, Tony has teamed up with the MOVE charity, which supports teenagers and young people to get moving after a cancer diagnosis. Every day this year, he is running 5k to raise awareness and funds for the charity.

He is also part of the Move charity’s 5k Your Way programme. This initiative in partnership with Park Run, is held at 85 Park Runs across the UK on the last Saturday of every month.

“At 5k Your Way, people living with and beyond cancer come together and we do 5k our way,” explains Tony. “This may be walking, jogging, running, cheering or volunteering. I am the North West regional champion and have also formed my own 5k Your Way at Wilmslow Park Run.”

Tony has also completed many other fundraising challenges. One year, he ran 970 miles in a year for Prostate Cancer UK to raise awareness of the fact that 970 men die of prostate cancer in the UK every month.

Since being diagnosed, Tony has also given hundreds of talks about prostate cancer and the importance for men aged 50 and over (45 and over if you are Black or have a history of prostate cancer in your family) to ask their GP for a PSA test.

Once a winner, Tony now finishes at the back of the pack, but he says he has never felt prouder of his achievements raising awareness of prostate cancer and the importance of movement for mental health.

“I am blessed. I am one of the lucky ones,” says Tony. “I was diagnosed with prostate cancer three months before TV presenter Bill Turnball, who unfortunately died recently. It makes me realise how lucky I am, but also how I need to use that luck to do something good every day.”

Most of all, running helps Tony with his own mental health. Struggling with the side-effects of medication and his prognosis, running helps Tony to clear his mind and re-energise. “I force myself to go out (for a run) and once I get back from my 5k, it lifts the veil of fatigue and I feel rejuvenated for the next four to five hours.”

You can follow Tony on Twitter @ethansgrumps
Facebook as Anthony Collier
Instagram as tonyendurancerunner
#movewithtony

• On 3 January 2023, Tony will have run a 5k every day for a year. He would love others to join him on this day and to use the hashtag #movewithtony. For more details, visit Tony’s Just Giving page here.