Meet Deborah Roques, a 29 year old Frenchwoman who’s participating in RAC for the first time this year. Having arrived in Singapore in 2011, she’s no stranger to distance running, having completed 10km, 15km, and 21km races in Singapore and around Asia. 

2015 started off positively for her but quickly took a turn when she was diagnosed with stage 2 breast cancer 5 days into the new year. The news came as a shock. She acted quickly and underwent a mastectomy with immediate reconstruction. It’s been a challenge coping with the physical and emotional impact of cancer but her family and friends have been a tremendous source of support. She shares, “the difficulty I am facing today is I don't know what my future will be. I am scared of a relapse. I am scared of dying of cancer one day. This is the question I am struggling with: how my life post-cancer will be? I do not yet have the answer. But I try to overcome it by taking this journey step by step, one day at a time.”

Even though Deborah is still undergoing treatment, she aims to keep running and maximising life. So far, she’s rallied 15-20 of her mates from all over to run RAC with her. She enthused, “Cancer doesn’t define me. I was a runner before cancer, I am still a runner now.” Deborah’s also dedicating her run to 2 of her friends, Sophie, who fought breast cancer years ago, and Romain, who’s fighting thyroid cancer now.

To prepare for RAC, Deborah is continuing her training regimen of yoga and running: she now runs about 5km, 2 to 3 times a week. She’s definitely driven. “I’m taking part in this race for me and all other patients struggling with this disease. I won’t let cancer get the lead on me, and I want everybody to know that.”