 Plenty of that next weekend because he's running in the New York marathon and he's Joe Gibbons and he's from Glenswally and He decided he actually decided when he was getting chemotherapy that you know that if I get through this and I come out the other side I'm gonna run in the New York marathon as you do shows with me in the studio and Joe, how's things? Good job. Thanks for having me. No bother You're looking fit. Well as you would be and you're about to run that. Oh, did you mean it? That's still showing. Yeah, not the first marathon you've run, but no, I've ran two before so looking forward and now the hard Work's done And was it ahead of one of them that you first figured that there's something not right? Yes But ten days before I was about to run the Belfast marathon Well, there's actually three weeks roughly before I was about to run and I come back from a training one morning and I Passed a bit of blood meering So I said the wife has told her and she says I don't think it's anything so but she says might be safer to get a check so Text doctor Keir and Rorty and he told me to come up and he checked everything and everything looked good took the bloods and everything and Then as he texts me afterwards, you don't know He says how lucky we were because I had my hand on the door ready to walk out and he says sure here now He says I'll I'll give you a check over And as I start up a silly it is more or less argued with me and told me to get up in the bed And he then found a lump in me groin Because you felt you know you passed about a year round, but you just put it down to training or whatever So you actually felt all of that you felt like you felt okay felt 110% amazing Yeah, so it's a sort of thankful you got a physical check and found the lump Found the lump and still suppose I was very naive because as I say he he he probably knew the signs But I didn't and suppose from playing football all my life. I was all lumps and bumps So he was he has the man who say he went deeper and found the fault Thankfully it is exactly exactly so Initially what initially was a was the treatment was well initially initially put me on a Weeks antibiotic program and then I went back into him and when I went back in the lumps hadn't removed Obviously, and he sent me up to Keisley and later that evening. They told me they were keeping me and Suppose me thinking that I was fit and healthy and ready to run a marathon I was sort of there while you keep me. I'm fit and healthy and and all the rest So I'm needless to say John at five o'clock the next evening when I was told that was the Friday evening Exactly nine days from the marathon That I had lymphoma Fairness to say my mouth had the ground Stupid question in a way, but did you do the marathon? I wasn't allowed to do the marathon Did you feel like you could have done the marathon? I really wanted to do the marathon because suppose I thought on my own head That I was fit. I was healthy They told me the biopsy wasn't going to be for a week to 10 days or maybe a fortnight And I thought listen, this is probably my last ever chance. I was in the shape of my life And I thought I'd never ever get to run a marathon again. So I really wanted to do it, but they never let me do it And and since that you've had Two rounds of treatment Take me is that right? No. Well Suppose I had six rounds of chemotherapy every three weeks. So I think it was 18 weeks chemotherapy Yeah, no so but before that they started out watching weight So from the October to the June the May time they done nothing Because they didn't know how long I had it and I didn't know myself how long I had it So they said if it didn't move they weren't going to move All right So then in June time I found another lump in my shoulder And That's what they meant by move move somewhere else. Exactly. Exactly. Um, so then they Took me in again. It was a fairly straight forward biopsy. I remember setting up on it just to go We need a lot of my shoulder and I remember getting the text message. I was sitting in my dinner saying can you talk and I said to the wife I said, oh well if he's texting this is good news And I think that was the Wednesday or thursday evening and they call come to say to be on and monday They were starting chemo on tuesday. Okay. So that was the dreaded phone call. Yeah, that was a bit of a disappointment I can well imagine and a big disappointment in the overall scheme of things because you know You were ticking along at that stage where you were kind of figuring well, you know, nothing's happening and I feel fine Yeah, nothing had changed and from the day I was saying I never knew I had cancer and I wasn't sick with it and I was I was tapping along nicely thinking it would never move Yeah, yeah um And then I came with therapy then after that and how I was was the chemo people Often say it starts off okay, and then gets tougher as it goes on and for me personally Like the first the first one you obviously have to get into hospital because they want to make sure you're not allergic to anything So that was three or four days in hospital I got out and other than the energy been down a little bit for the first one. I was I was grand But as you say the longer the chemo went on and then I asked the doctor I said listen is the chemo getting stronger or am I getting weaker? What's the story and he more or less said that because The chemo was killing the cancer that the chemo was actually attacking more of my good cells then So I did find the last few or I was just glad to hear when the last one was done. That was it. Let me tell you Yeah, because I mean um The side of doing a bit of running. I mean, you know a busy time of it and two young boys Job of curries but a sheep farming So, you know just just busy all around Yeah, and suppose we're all We're all we all do it we take life for granted and when something like this happens sometimes You gotta sit back and think What's it all about like, you know, you're rush rush rush rush and if the man above Takes a notion of slowing you down Yeah, he'll slow you down Well, I suppose when you have something like this it does give you time to contemplate and time to put things in perspective Um But I suppose one of the things that it did for you is it made you more determined to run a marathon? I will as As I say, I really didn't think I would get back to the shape of my now At the start it was just about probably trying to keep the head right and Get out and out and about again like because I've been training since I was probably seven years of age So Yeah, because you're a footballer as well And then in a previous life played for dunny gall and uh Then after football is over you did a bit more running. Hi. Um, I got under the run in 2019 and Probably got sort of hooked on it You know when you see your times going down and The up the trend and the times are still coming down you definitely do get hooked And the great thing I used to say I loved a bit running is you're not really running against somebody you're running against the watch So that's that's lesson. You've got well, yeah, exactly And you've got the elites who's in a different level But everybody no matter if they're running a marathon in two hours or running in a marathon in five hours They're trying to beat the watch. Yeah, yeah, you know beat their own time So it was towards the end of your treatment that you you said that listen if I get through this I'm gonna run a marathon and why did you pick new york? It was always on the bucket list. It was always on the bucket list I just thought the scenery and the seeing the people actually the photos and everybody's probably seen them running over Brooke, I think it's brooklyn bridge Like to see 50,000 people running over that and I just thought Someday I would love to do that Yeah, fantastic. Well, listen to the best look with it. Um It'll be you know, it's this huge crowd from new york marathon and iconic Landmarks and buildings and so on so it'll it'll be it'll be great And uh, all the training is done now at the stage more or less. Yeah the the favorite word supposed is taper So yeah, so the runs will be light between now and the runs get lighter and the days get lighter So yeah, the six o'clock starts. We'll be getting fewer. Thankfully Uh, because you know to run a marathon And give it a bit of attention and do it sort of semi seriously. You do have to put in the miles Definitely definitely. I'm a member good friend of mine, Marty Lynch telling me when I started running There's no great secret to running except run run run And it's very very it's very very truly you don't have to do the sessions Obviously the help But if you do the miles you get the rewards and have you is most around on your own or do you have a running partner or I have a running partner. Well, most of the time when he doesn't sleep on Peter Donald from kill mcranan. Uh-huh. Very good running and skiing partner. Uh, exactly. When are you going to get back to skiing? Well, that's in the pipeline for january. Hopefully Let's take it one challenge at a time. Exactly. Exactly. All right. Well, um, listen, it's great and everything's You know Everything's great now and I as I say listen still a wee bit some problems with the stomach and the bowels times But nothing nothing like what I have nothing compared to what if some people has like Um, so when you get told you're in remission when you have cancer, that's as good as it gets. Yeah So they put it back to sleep and hopefully it stays sleeping now. That's the big one Yeah, and it makes you I'm guessing that when you have a cancer diagnosis and then you come out the other side and makes you grab life with both hands and Exactly. Exactly. And suppose another thing that when you get told it, I would say I never prayed as much in my life You know what I mean like so Listen, you look for any solution you can get because as I say all you want to do is get out the other side You know So anyone listening and a particular man and particularly young men and young men who who might feel healthy if there's anything sinister going on Um, you know be determined and ask the hard questions. Don't be afraid to ask for an examination as well I say I know a lot of my friends Was pumped as I was and a lot of them went and got checked after I got checked, you know and suppose With this marathon, I obviously was going to go and do it, but I wasn't going to to publicize I was going to do it Um, but I thought if I do this and I says if I can raise awareness that there is life after chemotherapy And that was like if it helps one person To get over it You know what I mean, or if you're told you need chemo, it's not the end of the day Like it's not the end of the world Yeah, no and it's an important message and it's important to raise awareness about that message as well And not only are you raising awareness, but you're raising a few a few pounds as well Absolutely blow blowing away John. Um, like if you go follow me page. There's a go follow me page If somebody had told me I would have raised a thousand I would have been happy I think it's at 11 000 and heading on the other side of that So it's I'm absolutely the generosity And as everybody knows when you ask the people of Donegal for help to raise money They they certainly do roll one behind you like to like I'm just I'm speechless about that. Yeah Yeah, no, I know I suppose it's for two good causes John, which helps, you know Yeah, I can't take care of west the support center here in Donegal and pay at a house. Yep. Yeah two two great causes All right. Well, listen, um, I'm not going to ask you about times and And so on but you'll you'll you'll complete it anyhow. Well, that's the plan John. That's the plan Hopefully it all goes to the plan. Wendy head over. Uh, this day week Two years My wife Susanna and there's two other couples going on this as well. So Great time into the bargain. Yeah, that's the plan. Listen. Uh, enjoy it Joe and uh, and thanks for coming in No, well, John. Thanks for having me