Just weeks after her adoptive father died from sarcoma, a 22-year-old trainee PE teacher will lace up her running shoes for a marathon to honour the man she called ‘Pops’.
Beau Burton, 22, from Earley, is taking part in the Brighton Marathon on 12 April in tribute to Dominic Murphy, 63, who had chordoma. Only about 50 people are diagnosed with chordoma in this country each year.
A builder, it was early in 2020 that he felt he had pulled something in his back. Dominic saw a physio, but that didn’t help.
One morning, he woke up and couldn’t move. He was taken to hospital for scans and was diagnosed with chordoma in his spine.
He then had two surgeries to remove the tumour. At the end of 2020, he had radiotherapy in Manchester for six to eight weeks. Dominic was then given the all-clear.
But sadly, in May 2023, the cancer returned and had spread. It was now in several different parts of his body, including his lungs. Dominic was put on palliative care and died in March 2026.
Dominic, who supported Reading Football Club and liked watching horse racing, had become bed-bound with nurses visiting him four times a day.
Beau said: ‘He was always there for me and, since his diagnosis, me and my little brother did everything we could to care for him – just as he did for us over the years. He went through so much, but he was one of the strongest, kindest people I knew.
‘Running became my way to channel that strength and support him,” said Beau, who has also won a place in the Chicago Marathon later this year.
She is running in Brighton for Sarcoma UK. ‘Joining Team Sarcoma is the next step in my journey to help others facing sarcoma and chordoma, and to push myself further both physically and emotionally.’
Sarcoma UK’s Research Manager, Emily Williams, said: ‘Chordoma is an incredibly rare and difficult cancer to treat, which is why we funded two research projects led by Professor Adrienne Flanagan at the Royal National Orthopaedic Hospital. Her team discovered that a group of drugs already used to treat other cancers could also be effective against chordoma, and those findings contributed to the first ever clinical trial for this disease. The trial showed that some patients do benefit, and further research is now under way to determine who this treatment could work for. There is still a long way to go but, for families like Beau’s who are watching someone they love face this disease with so few treatment options, every step forward represents real hope. The money Beau raises by running the Brighton Marathon helps us fund more research like this, and we are incredibly grateful for her courage and dedication in taking on this challenge in memory of her Pops.’
To donate to Beau, go to https://2026brightonmarathonweekend.enthuse.com/pf/beau-marie-burton?utm_source=share&utm_medium=whatsapp
