Running for Hector: Mum and Friends Take on Marathon for Hospital

A brave Manx mum is swapping the sofa for the start line as she gears up to tackle the Manchester Marathon, all in support of the hospital that helped treat her young son.

Rebekah Dalrymple will lace up her trainers alongside five of her childhood friends despite admitting she had zero running experience before signing up.

Bold. Very bold.

The group, now proudly known as Team Hector, are raising funds for The Christie NHS Foundation Trust, where Rebekah’s son Hector received specialist treatment last year.

Hector was just five when he was diagnosed with a craniopharyngioma brain tumour in late 2024.

He later spent six weeks in Manchester undergoing intensive treatment, including proton beam therapy, a highly targeted form of radiation designed to treat tumours while limiting damage to healthy tissue.

Doctors warned the tumour, if left untreated, could have caused serious complications, including loss of vision and hearing.

Because of its location near the pituitary gland, the treatment is likely to have affected hormone production.

Over the past year, Hector has shown signs of limited growth and is expected to begin endocrinology treatment in April to help monitor and manage this.

The idea for the fundraising challenge actually began from the sidelines.

While staying in Manchester during Hector’s treatment, the family watched runners take part in last year’s marathon, with Hector cheering them on. That moment stuck.

Rebekah said: ‘The reason that it was the Manchester marathon I wanted to enter was because the city is meaningful to us.

‘That’s where we were. That’s where the Christie is. That’s where Hector had the treatment. That’s where we were in that exact spot watching it a year ago.

‘I think for me personally, that will be a big thing as well.’

Soon enough, five of her friends, Emma Riley, Susie Charker, Suzanne Gray and Christina Fowkes signed up to join her. (Peer pressure? We’ll call it friendship.)

Ashlea Tracey is also backing the fundraising effort, although she’s had to defer her marathon attempt due to injury, probably the only acceptable excuse when your mates decide to run 26.2 miles.

The team hasn’t been taking it easy either.

Fundraising is already well underway, including a running pub crawl in Ramsey (hydration is key… apparently) and a quiz night set to take place in Laxey Working Men’s Institution later this week.

But behind the trainers, trivia and the occasional pint, there’s a much bigger reason driving them forward.

Rebekah said: ‘The bit that makes me the most emotional is when I think about all of those kids aside from Hector going through this.

‘The Christie were at capacity – they were full. There was always the next lot of children waiting to start their treatment.’

Since finishing treatment, Hector has been undergoing MRI scans every three months to monitor the tumour and ensure it continues to shrink rather than refill like a cyst.

If everything remains stable, the hope is that scan intervals can eventually be reduced, and after five years, he could be discharged from this stage of care.

If you’d like to support Team Hector (and help power those marathon miles), donations can be made online here: https://tinyurl.com/3wet2nsb