This runner took part in the 2013 Malta Marathon. I saw him leaving from Mdina, lost in the crowd and I saw him again at the Ferries, running the last few metres with a quiet determination.

He was not welcomed with any great fanfare, nor, I am sure, did he expect any. He had completed the race and that is all that really matters. For me, he is the other face of the Malta Marathon and I prefer to call this photo: the true Marathon spirit – going the distance.

On behalf of the many who, like me, are cancer survivors and for so many others for whom life is a hard uphill struggle and who are thankful for each day lived fully, I wish to tell this man: Thank you.