The incredible story of a Surrey dad who hasn't stopped running for 10 years after being given just 2 years to live

A Surrey dad has continued to defy the odds after being given a terminal cancer diagnosis 10 years ago. Kevin Webber was diagnosed with terminal stage four prostate cancer in 2014 as the cancer had spread through his body.

He was given just two years to live. But 10 years on the 59-year-old from Epsom, is still going strong and has found a passion for running, taking on some of the hardest ultra-marathons in the world's most extreme environments, including the Sahara Desert and the Arctic.

Since his diagnosis, the NatWest employee, has run more than 16,000 miles, raising more than a million pounds for Prostate Cancer UK. He is now preparing for his next challenge, the Ice Ultra, set for next year.

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Speaking to PA Real Life, Kevin said: "There I was telling my dad that I’ll probably be dead before him. So now here I am, 59 years old, 10 years of terminal stage 4 cancer, and I’ve just run further than I ever have done in my life.

"I want to raise awareness because if people know about the risks, they might make one trip to the Marsden for radiotherapy rather than over 200 in my case, for chemo, radiotherapy and neverending drugs."

Kevin began experiencing frequent nighttime trips to the bathroom while on a family holiday in Disney World, Florida, with his wife Sarah and their three children, Ollie, 19, Ben, 24, and Hayley, 26, in August 2014. Upon returning home, he consulted his GP who performed a PSA blood test and what Kevin refers to as "a doctor’s special handshake".

A week later, he received his diagnosis: prostate cancer. He was reassured that it was often curable, with around 82% of men being cured. However, Kevin found himself among the less fortunate 18%, as his cancer had already spread. "It’s true, around 82% of men with prostate cancer will be cured, but unfortunately I was in the 18%," Kevin explained. "My prostate cancer had already spread into other parts of my body and unfortunately it’s a bit like letting the genie out of the bottle. Once the genie is out, you can’t put him back in again."

On November 6, 2014, he was given a grim prognosis, with expectations of surviving beyond two years being slim. The news shattered his dreams of a future with milestones such as seeing his children grow up, enjoying retirement, and witnessing Wimbledon's success in football.

"Obviously at the time there were lots of tears," he admitted. After starting chemotherapy at the Royal Marsden Hospital in Sutton in January 2015, Kevin looked out from his house after his first chemo session and decided to run, managing only three miles compared to his previous capability of running 20.

"It changed everything because I realised at that point you can either be a victim and give up on everything or you can do something about it."

Kevin had signed up for the Brighton marathon before his illness and questioned his oncologist about participating amidst cancer treatment. "He said ‘well people don’t really do that’ and wasn’t very impressed," Kevin recounted. "But then he said, ‘if you can train for it, then I suppose you can do it’."

Despite the challenges of chemotherapy, Kevin completed the Brighton Marathon in four hours and 36 minutes, his slowest yet. Following this achievement, he was invited to run the London Marathon, where he improved his time by 12 minutes.

"I went back to hospital for my chemo session and the doctor asked ‘well, did you do the marathon?'. I told him that I had done two and he seemed quite impressed, and then asked me what I was going to do next!"

Having always aspired to tackle the Marathon des Sables, a 160-mile race across the Sahara Desert over seven days, Kevin, with support from his wife, took on the challenge in 2016. "So I trained for that and I had all sorts of problems with my knees and hips, but somehow 2016 came around and I got off the plane in the Sahara and ran the Marathon des Sables," Kevin said.

Kevin discussed the grueling conditions of the race, saying: "You are going over sand dunes that are 200 feet high and go on for 10-mile stretches.It’s billed as one of the toughest races on Earth."

After completing the challenge, while initially feeling "never again", Kevin discovered that running offered a remarkable sense of "escapism" and positivity for him. He recounted his initial fears post-race: "When I finished, I was 18 months into my prognosis and still thought it could all go wrong, and that I could be dead quite quickly."

However, Kevin has beaten the odds, still pounding the pavement 10 years and a week later, having run the Marathon des Sables four times - the only person with stage 4 cancer to achieve such a feat.

His achievements don't stop there; he's completed extreme races worldwide in the Arctic, Iceland, Cambodia, Bhutan, Jordan, Spain, and Albania, among others. Even during the pandemic lockdown, Kevin maintained his discipline, explaining: "I ran 2,600 laps of my back garden to makeup the 160 miles in a week. I wanted to prove that even though it wasn’t an ideal world, if you wanted to run, you could."

To celebrate a decade since his prostate cancer diagnosis, he chose to pay tribute to the Royal Marsden caregivers.

Kevin said: "I basically ran from my house in Epsom to the hospital and back 10 times and every lap was for a different department at the hospital. Each lap was eight miles, so I did 80 miles in 24 hours – I had never done that before. I raised around £22,000 for the hospital."

Kevin, whose previous endeavours have already raised more than £1 million for Prostate Cancer UK, is gearing up to mark his 60th birthday with a daring 140-mile Ice Ultra marathon across the Arctic Circle in Sweden. He's launched new fundraising campaign on JustGiving, setting an initial goal of £1,000.

Kevin added: "I got to know some men who were diagnosed and died six months later. But I have not met anyone who was diagnosed and is still alive 10 years later. I am obviously not the only one, there are other people but not many of them."

In recognition of his charitable work, Kevin received the British Empire Medal in the late queen’s birthday honours list. He has also penned a book, 'Dead Man Running', to motivate others.

Continuing his battle with cancer, Kevin remains under treatment that could fail at any moment. He explained, "I have a scan every few years, but I haven’t had one for a while," and "All you have is bi-monthly blood tests and you hope the drugs keep your PSA score low and consistent. Normally the drugs you take (Abiraterone) work for around 12 months – I have been on them for more than eight years.”

For those concerned about prostate cancer, information is available at: prostatecanceruk.org/risk-checker.

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