Darlington Race for Life: Best friends to take part

Tracy Kirk has set herself a series of demanding running challenges in honour of Viv Pow, who has stage 4 bowel cancer.

Tracy is aiming to raise £5,000 for Cancer Research UK, which she’s dubbed Viv’s Positivity POW…ER.

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She has completed the Brighton Marathon and plans to run Swaledale Marathon, Tough Mudder, the Great North Run, the London Marathon. And they ran their own positivity fun run in Darlington on June 6.

On Sunday, June 19, Tracy and Viv will join hundreds of people for the popular Darlington Race for Life at South Park, which raises money to help beat more than 200 types of cancer.

Tracy, 52, said: “I would hope people would look at me and say, she’s in her fifties, she’s doing a marathon, maybe I could do a 5K or 10k. I’m never going to be Mo Farah or Paula Radcliffe but I do it for me and Viv and my kids. In years to come I would like them to think mam was all right, mam did something.”

Tracy, who is a long-serving neighbourhood officer and Viv, a retired police officer, have been friends since meeting at work more than 20 years ago.

Tracy, who is married to Stephen and has sons Sam, 17 and Daniel, 14,  said: “Everyone needs a Viv in their lives. She has changed my life for the better and for that I am forever grateful.

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“I have cried and cried over her stage 4 prognosis but have realised that life is for making memories and trying to do good."

She added: “Viv encouraged me to run my first marathon and ran it with me. I owe her so much and she’s just a wonderful, wonderful friend.

“She’s an absolute inspiration. Whatever she’s got, I wish I could bottle it: it’s the elixir of being a lovely friend.”

Although no longer able to run, Viv will be walking the Darlington Race for Life.

Tracy added: “I do miss Viv dreadfully when I do my long runs but if she can sit and have chemo for eight hours a day every fortnight, I can go out and run by myself.

“I know how it feels when you cross the finish line. I’m doing it for Viv because Viv can’t do it anymore.”

Viv, 58, who is married to Jeff and lives near Darlington, was diagnosed with cancer in 2012 and underwent surgery, followed by chemotherapy.

A keen runner, she completed a marathon just four months after the operation.

When the cancer was found to have returned two years later, Viv had surgery to remove her colon.

She is now receiving palliative chemotherapy after a diagnosis in June 2021 and is spending as much time as possible with sons Sam and Matthew, daughters-in-law Gayle and Mikela and grandchildren Rupert, who is two in August, two-year-old Camilla and nine-month-old Matilda.

She said: “Ten years ago, if you heard ‘cancer’ it was like a death sentence. I wanted to get out there and show that it’s not the case and even though I had cancer, I could still run a marathon.”

She added: “It’s not always easy to be positive but I choose to be like that. You make your own happiness.”

Viv has taken part in Race for Life before and is looking forward to the Darlington date.

She added: “The atmosphere is just amazing. People are all there for a reason, usually to remember somebody or support somebody who’s going through cancer. When you read the signs on people’s backs it makes you feel connected to so many people and part of a community.

“The more research that can be done is hopefully going to extend my life and give me more time with my grandchildren.”

To enter visit raceforlife.org.

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