Parktown woman runs marathon in garden to honour cousin with cancer

Cecilia Wilmot Ballam completed a full marathon on Monday in her backyard, as a tribute to her 45-year-old cousin Juju who is battling  stage 4 cancer.

With sporting events around the country cancelled or postponed because of the  coronavirus outbreak, running club Fresh Trail challenged athletes to take part in the "ultra backyard trail challenge", which aims to get athletes to run marathons at home during the lockdown.

Ballam told TimesLIVE that Juju, based in Barcelona, Spain, was active before she fell ill. She enjoyed the outdoors, running and walking her dog. By choosing to take part in this garden marathon, Ballam wanted to honour her sick cousin by doing what she loved the most.

“She’s fighting every day and I’ve been thinking, what can I do for her? I send messages, pictures and videos of me and the kids and I try to be involved in her life, but I thought: she can’t run a marathon. That physical endurance she’s going through every day is like running a marathon.” 

The organisers of the event gave Ballam two numbers, one for her and another for her cousin - a gesture she said was uplifting and made her feel closer to Juju. 

Ballam had originally signed up for the Mac Mac Ultra, also organised by Fresh Trail, but it was cancelled because of  the lockdown.

Completing a marathon from her garden at her Parktown home had never crossed her mind, but she embraced it and used it as an opportunity to appreciate her home surroundings and her cousin.

Her daughter ran with her towards the end of the race, while her son cheered for her at the finish line.

Her cousin and extended family brought meaning to the gruelling nine-hour marathon by sending pictures and videos of themselves also taking part in the race.

“Nothing is easy in life, but there are wonderful challenges. I’m really happy I did it ... This marathon is one of the main highlights of my life.

“My cousin ended up getting out of bed and jumping on a trampoline. All those funny videos just broke my heart with happiness!”

Many find little to be grateful for amid the lockdown and the Covid-19 pandemic, but Ballam says this time should be used to reflect.

“I have never seen the lockdown as a negative thing but as a positive ... It’s for taking time out to think about what you do in life and in the environment.

“This was for Juju and there was such extreme Ubuntu from everyone, including my family. I was crying the whole day.”