Odette Clark has completed the Hackney Half Marathon and raised a staggering £1,185 for Smiles With Grace and Macmillan Cancer Support.
Grace Boxall was a dear friend of Odette’s, who says “I can only hope I have done Grace proud”.
After completing the 13.1 mile run through East London, Odette said “for a first time racer and as someone who has never ran over 10k, I couldn’t have asked for a better experience”, despite the fact she was accidentally pushed over at mile 8 by a fellow runner.
But the setback didn’t stop her, as she says she was determined to push through for her two chosen charities, finishing with a strong time of 2:07.
Odette faced her own cancer diagnosis back in June 2020, in the middle of the global pandemic. At 22 years old, the actor was told that the cancer had spread to the lymph nodes in her neck, that they were tangled on one of her vocal chords, and that she may never sing again.
But after enduring a six-hour surgery, her consultant saved her vocal chord.
During the next stage of her treatment Odette met her nurse Elaine, through Macmillan Cancer Support, who she says became her “talking buddy”.
As she wrote bravely about her own cancer journey, Odette added, “Elaine was there through every step that the cancer treatment took me, and in dark moments she was a real light. She encouraged a new perspective on life whilst telling me tales of her work on other cancer wards”.
Of Odette’s impressive total, £784 will go to Smiles With Grace and £400 to Macmillan for her nurse Elaine.
She says “I am so grateful to everyone who has donated and all the support I have received along the way.”
