Paula Radcliffe’s daughter, 18, to run London Marathon after recovery from rare cancer

Paula Radcliffe remains the fastest British woman to run a marathon and daughter Isla is now set to tackle the distance for the first time after a battle with cancer

Paula Radcliffe’s daughter Isla is set to run her first ever London Marathon on Sunday. It is a remarkable feat for the 18-year-old, who was diagnosed with a rare form of cancer just five years ago.

Isla’s mother Paula has run the famous 26.2-mile race on multiple occasions. Paula, 51, holds the British marathon record and competed in the event at the 2004 and 2008 Olympics in addition to her London Marathon involvement.

The Olympian has two children, Isla and Raphael, with husband Gary Lough. In photos from her 2007 New York City Marathon victory – one of three on the spin – she can be seen holding baby Isla in her arms.

Now, Radcliffe’s eldest child is ready to take to the start line in London herself. The youngster has taken part in shorter races, but this will be her first at the marathon distance.

Isla is raising money for the charity Children with Cancer UK with here run. And it’s a charity with a special connection to the teenager after her own battle with a rare form of ovarian cancer.

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“Now she just runs for herself,” Paula told Radio Times of her daughter, who she says used to run competitvely before her cancer diagnosis in 2020. “She’s not trying to set any record, it’s just a part of her proving that she’s healthy enough to finish a marathon.”

She says things moved “very quickly” after the family visited a paediatrician when Isla suffered with symptoms including stomach aches and shortness of breath. “On the Tuesday she visited the doctor, we had a scan on the Wednesday and one week later we were already in the hospital starting the first round of chemo,” she added.

The long-distance runner said experiencing Isla’s illness was “the hardest thing a parent can go through”. She continued: “You can support them and be with them the whole way through, but you can’t do that chemo for them. It’s horrible to watch your child suffering through that, but at the same time we believed that if it felt bad, it was killing the cancer.”

Paula will also be part of the BBC’s commentary team for the broadcaster’s marathon coverage on Sunday. “It’s an extremely emotional place to be anyway, when you see people turn that corner on the Mall and they realise they’ve done it. But when it’s your little girl doing it, that’s going to be a bit more emotional,” she said.

The 2025 London Marathon will take place on Sunday morning. Other runners include Lindsey Burrow, the widow of rugby league legend Rob, who is running in support of Leeds Hospitals Charity and the Leeds Rhinos Foundation.