Jim Hamilton is a bowel cancer survivor, underwent a colostomy, suffered from deep vein thrombosis and was fitted with a new hip... but he was also one of this year’s 21-kilometre Malta Marathon runners.
The Times managed to track him down after he was seen running in a bright yellow T-shirt emblazoned with the words: “Bowel cancer, colostomy, DVT, pulmonary embolism, septic arthritis, new hip, anaphylaxis. And you think your training went badly?”
Mr Hamilton took part in this year’s marathon with a record 3,200 participants. On the front, his T-shirt read “Cancer Survivors, We Never Give Up”.
“I got the idea for the T-shirt when filling in a form for travel insurance and had to declare pre-existing conditions. I thought it might encourage anyone who was finding it tough in the race to keep going. I find it hard myself at times, but never give up.”
Mr Hamilton, 62, from Scotland, was diagnosed with bowel cancer in 2005, 10 years after he lost his wife to breast cancer. Aged 39, Kate passed away in 1995.
“I wanted to run a marathon overseas and as Kate and I had been to Malta on holiday I chose the Malta Marathon. My first Malta Marathon was more than 10 years ago. I had such a good time I’ve been back every year since, apart from when I had cancer treatment and when I was waiting for my hip replacement.”
When Mr Hamilton was diagnosed with cancer he underwent radiotherapy, surgery and six months of chemotherapy. But he tried to keep active throughout the treatment – he did a few 10-kilometre races and completed the Dublin marathon while still on chemotherapy.
In 2006 he got an infection in his right hip which destroyed the joint. Mr Hamilton was told he would need to be infection-free for at least a year before he could be considered for a replacement hip.
He was walking with crutches for the next year but still managed to complete three half marathons. “It was a bit tough on the wrists but I got round,” he recalls.
Eventually he got his new hip and after waiting one year for it to settle in, he slowly started running again.
In all, he has run the full Malta Marathon twice and the half marathon about 10 times.
Mr Hamilton ran his first marathon in Scotland in 1983 when he was trying to give up smoking 50 cigarettes a day.
“I had a bet with a friend that I could stop smoking and run a marathon within six months... I did, and apart from one small lapse I haven’t smoked since.”
But 30 years on, what keeps him going?
“I keep running because I really enjoy it and I think being fit helped me through the illnesses. I will be back next year; it’s one of my favourite races.”
In the meantime, Mr Hamilton’s participation is a beam of hope for other cancer survivors. He caught the attention of cancer survivor Sandro Spiteri who saw Mr Hamilton leave from Mdina, lost in the crowd, and again at the Ferries, running the last few metres “with a quiet determination”.
In a recent letter sent to The Times, Mr Spiteri said Mr Hamilton was the other face of the Malta marathon.
“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.”