Mortality: Liz Clarke-Saul

What facing death can teach us about living life, with GB Para-cyclist Liz Clarke-Saul. Liz is 30 years old- and has incurable cancer. She was first diagnosed with adamantinoma – an extremely rare form of bone cancer- at the age of 12 in 2001. Liz had her leg amputated because of the disease two years later, and she was inspired to take up para-cycling after London 2012. But last year- with Tokyo 2020 firmly in her sights- Liz found out the adamantinoma had returned, and that it was now incurable. In this episode- Liz talks about the importance of appreciating how precious time is, and why big birthdays shouldn’t be seen as something to dread- but as a privilege. She talks about applying the power of sporting mantras- like ‘control the controllables’- to her situation, as well as the importance of living for the day- because you could get hit by a bus tomorrow. And Liz is is speaking from experience there- having actually been hit by a bus. She talks about choosing to focus on gratitude and what you do have- rather than dwelling on those things you don’t, and why people should stop procrastinating and do what they want to do now- rather than keep putting them off, as you never know what's round the corner.

**This episode is a tribute to the memory of Liz Clarke-Saul, who sadly died in July 2020.**

If you would like to contribute to Liz's fundraising for research into adamantinoma, please follow this link: https://www.bcrt.org.uk/get-involved/tribute-funds/the-liz-clarke-saul-fund