Runner from Milton Keynes completes London Marathon despite painful leg injury

A Milton Keynes man who picked up an injury while running the London Marathon, has already entered next year’s ballot.

Joshua Hendriks completed the iconic 26.2-mile race on Sunday in aid of Brain Tumour Research, having lost his grandfather to the disease. Despite spraining his leg at mile 15, he finished in six hours, 22 minutes and 38 seconds.

He said: “Every mile after that was painful. All of a sudden, every step hurt and, for the last six miles, I could barely walk. I kept telling myself ‘I’ve come this far and can’t stop now’ and just kept going through the pain. I really enjoyed it, though and had a lot of fun, even if my official photos do show me grimacing and wincing with pain.”

Joshua, 25, who has almost reached his fundraising target of £1,000 has Osgood-Schlatter disease, a condition that causes pain in his knees and limited his training.

He added: “I wasn’t really concentrating on all the cool sights I passed, so next time I’d really like to look around more. I’ll also try to train properly and get a decent time, hopefully without getting injured.

“By the end, I was just happy to have done it, and to finally be able to ice my leg. A big part of it is your mindset; if you believe you’re going to finish it, you will. I just kept my legs moving and didn’t stop through the pain, and I made sure I ran the last 200 metres to get an action shot of me crossing the finish line.

Sales manager Joshua was inspired to run for the charity because of his grandfather David Snoxell, a father-of-two from Woburn Sands who was initially misdiagnosed with Parkinson’s before being diagnosed with a glioblastoma (GBM) in February 2019.

David, who worked in insurance after leaving the Royal Navy and was a stalwart of the Milton Keynes Rugby Union Football Club, underwent two debulking operations followed by radiotherapy and chemotherapy but, sadly, died on Boxing Day 2019, aged 79.

Joshua said: “He was like a second dad to me and an absolute legend. If I needed anything, he’d be there. He was at all my sports events, my university open day and my graduation.

“If he didn’t have a brain tumour I’m sure he would have lived until 100. What happened to him will never leave me. Seeing someone who’s so active and fit gradually decline like that and not be able to do things for themselves is really hard.”

Carol Robertson, national events manager for Brain Tumour Research, said: “Brain tumours are so cruel and we’re really sorry for Joshua’s loss. Sadly, David’s story is not unique. Brain tumours kill more children and adults under the age of 40 than any other cancer, and more men under the age of 70 than prostate cancer, yet, historically, just 1% of the national spend on cancer research has been allocated to this devastating disease.”

To donate to Brain Tumour Research visit Joshua’s fundraising page here