Meet marathon runners running 26.2 extra miles after health issues

Meet the London Marathon runners who beat the odds to reach the starting line on Sunday.

This incredible trio already deserves medals. Their courage and determination should help them travel 26.2 miles.

Ben Atkins, 21, worked a miracle after being diagnosed with end-stage cancer four years ago.

Del Singh, 56, learned that he would die without a gastric band and lost eight stones.

And Issy McNeile, 26, will take the course despite the pulmonary condition of cystic fibrosis.

In addition to realizing what some have said was impossible, they hope to gather thousands of people for the charitable work they care about.

Their inspiring stories are enough to make you reach your coaches …

Miracle on the starting line after only a few weeks to live

Not so long ago, Ben Atkins, 21, chose his gravestone.

But today, he will travel 26.2 miles without the cancer he thought was terminal.

At age 17, doctors gave her weeks to live after a two-year battle with Stage 4 Hodgkin's lymphoma.

Ben started palliative care and even had the last family vacation.

But a miracle happened six months later, when he began to feel "strangely OK."

And a scan revealed that he was well in remission.

Ben, from Berkhamsted, Herts, started the cross-country race a year ago to stay in shape after his victory.

But he said, "It will be a big challenge because years of chemotherapy have put my body to the test."

And he raises funds for the charity that supported him in his illness, the Teenage Cancer Trust.

Recalling the moment when he learned that his cancer was terminally ill, he said: "Being informed of my death has not been a shock after years of treatment, but I decided to spend every moment with your friends and your family.

"It was a very emotional time: I even chose the place where I would be buried. Like everyone else, I kept hoping to challenge the odds. Being that person feels amazing. "

The consultants were confused by the reversal, but may think that a stem cell transplant has already begun to function later than two years ago.

"To this day, nobody knows exactly how I'm still alive. But I do not dwell on it.

The symptoms of Ben's cancer began to manifest at the age of 14 years. Exhausted, he lost weight and had to stop running, rugby, football and swimming.

The tests revealed two tumors in the chest.

Trained at the Teenage Cancer Trust Unit of the University College Hospital in London, he received "dozens" of chemotherapies and radiation therapies. He got the green light in 2013 and 2014, but relapsed.

"Every physical act was a battle," he said. "The most thankless tasks, from bed raising to relationships with friends and family, have become almost insurmountable."

In 2014, Ben had a stem cell transplant, offered by his brother Joseph, "phobic needle", now 23 years old.

However, a review in December 2015 found that the tumor had reached "the size of a tennis ball" and that Ben and his mother Anya, 51, had learned that she was incurable.

"It hit hard," said Ben.

A "last" stay in the Maldives with Anya, Joseph and her sister Grace, 19, gave them a good time together.

But over the weeks, Ben realized that he felt "the same".

"And after five months, I felt really good."

Everyone was "on the moon" when an badysis in 2016 revealed that he was in remission. "At first, I did not want to trust the results, but then I started having fun again."

Ben then obtained his bachelor's degree and obtained a place at the University of Oxford to study law.

Ben's first runs left him exhausted due to muscle fatigue after years of treatment and bed rest.

He also has graft-versus-host disease – a complication of his transplant which means that his muscles and skin are contracted and cause discomfort.

But he says, "The thought of the people who will benefit from the money I am collecting will allow me to continue."

• Donate to uk.virginmoneygiving.com and look for Ben Atkins

Cystic fibrosis does not define me

A lifelong battle against cystic fibrosis, lung disease, gave Issy McNeile a great reason to finish the race.

Because her sister also has cystic fibrosis and spent 10 days in intensive care in September. Law student, Issy, 26, has sworn to show him that the disease "will not define it".

The genetic disease causes abscesses in Issy's lungs and frequent chest infections.

She said: "At the worst time, I have trouble walking, talking and breathing. I want to prove to both of us that CF will not stop us from achieving our goals. "

The older sister Alice, 27, has the gene but not the disease. The CF is reaching more than 10,500 people in the UK.

It causes the body to produce thick mucus, affecting people differently.

Issy from London said, "For me, it's my lungs, I spent my life in the hospital. Lucy's is more digestible. "

Lucy, 24, was hospitalized with internal bleeding.

Issy said, "It was difficult, I could not surrender. I want to be a model. "

Despite a recent complication and antibiotic treatment, Issy is determined to run.

She said, "It will be an emotional day."

Op m helped to run eight stones

It was said to Del Singh, his father suffering from morbid obesity, that he would die at the age of 60 if he was not getting leaner.

But he has his eyes riveted on the finish line after paying for a gastric operation – instead of a new kitchen.

Del, 56, weighed 23 stones when he used his £ 10,000 savings for a private operation after the gloomy prognosis.

He said: "I realized that I did not need a new kitchen as much as my wife needed me alive."

After eating soup and tiny portions of scrambled eggs, the father of five children lost eight stones in three years and fell to 15.5 stones.

The sedentary lifestyle of the former computer consultant and his love of curries, soft drinks and fries, have seen him pile up.

Grandfather of five children, Del said: "I had problems with blood pressure, cholesterol and back pain. Walking even for a short distance has made me breathless.

But it was still not "heavy enough" for the NHS's operation.

In 2015, Del from Peterborough paid for 15% of his stomach to be removed.

He started walking and would walk 10 km every night.

The walk has become a run and he plans to do three races in three months for cancer research.

Today's race is the last push.