rivers2cross

Chapter 5 in The Record saw me meet Paralympian Anne Usher (nee Dickens) who won gold in Rio 2016 in the KL3 200m Paracanoeing. She was training at Dorney Lake on a beautiful, crisp, and very cold January morning in 2017. This was the first time that I had ever been to the scene of so many memorable events during London 2012.

We talked about Anne’s career, and what led her to take up the sport after a serious back injury ended her cycling career. Since our meeting Anne, who is also a physiotherapist has retired from the sport, and has been travelling the world. I found Anne to be very down-to-earth, and a really inspiring person too. Her first record is an all time classic too..

The Record was written in memory of my mum who died of bowel cancer in August 2016. All profits are donated to Bowel Cancer UK, and over £870 has been raised to date. I am hoping to reach £1000 during 2020. Click here to see all the ways to order a copy of the book.

Bowel cancer claims 16,000 lives in the UK, and is the second biggest cancer killer. However if caught early at stage 1 it is very treatable, and the five year survival rate is over 90%. When detected at the late stage 4 the five year survival rate drops dramatically to 7%. This shows how crucial early diagnosis is to getting a better outcome. Knowing the symptoms is so important.