Tributes paid to ‘inspirational’ mum, 50, after cancer battle
KEEN RUNNER SARAH WAS MUCH LOVED BY HER FAMILY AND FRIENDS
HEARTFELT tributes have been paid to an “inspirational” mum-ofthree who lost her short battle with lung cancer.
Sarah Garrett passed away on Tuesday night, seven months after being diagnosed with cancer. The 50-year-old and her husband Scott, 48, were due to celebrate their 21st wedding anniversary just days later, on Thursday.
Today he paid tribute to “loving mam and wife” Sarah, who would always put others first and worked hard to provide for their three sons, Jack, 17, Robbie, 15, and Harry, 13.
Scott, from Gateshead, said: “She was a really loving mam and wife. She was quite a humble person but she was also very clever and quite inspirational.
“She worked extremely hard to provide for the lads and never complained about anything. She always put others first, even when she was going through difficult things.”
Sarah, who was originally from Coventry, moved to the North East after graduating from University of Cambridge. She met Scott in 1999 at
The Mayfair in Newcastle and the happy couple married two years later.
Throughout their relationship, the couple have shared a keen interest in sport and would often take part in running events together. They were regular participants in Gateshead Parkrun and Sarah was eager to complete her 100th parkrun.
Sadly, she just missed her milestone having completed 98 parkrun events before her death. But her determination will remain an inspiration to many as Sarah continued to participate in running events after her diagnosis and even completed Gateshead Parkrun on Christmas Day last year.
Sarah, Scott, and their three boys, also participated in Race for Life, in Saltwell Park, last month and raised over £6,000 for cancer research.
Scott said: “We’d been doing the parkruns since the early days when there was only 30-40 people taking part and we did the first Christmas one when there was snow on the ground and it just went from there.”
Sarah first started to notice changes in her health towards the end of last year.
The day after Storm Arwen hit the region, Sarah and Scott took part in a cross-country race in County Durham. During the race, Sarah felt as though she was struggling to catch her breath, but the couple put it down to the cold weather conditions following the storm.
That same week, Sarah re-joined a training group she had previously been a member of with the hope of improving her fitness further after recovering from a knee operation two years earlier. But after some of the more intense workout sessions, Sarah described seeing “stars at the side of her eyes”.
Later that night, Sarah began experiencing difficulties moving her leg. However, it wasn’t until a week later when two of Scott’s friends who work for the NHS advised her to get her symptoms checked out at A&E that she was diagnosed with lung cancer.
Scott said: “It was just before Christmas when we found out. She’d never smoked in her life but 10-15% of people who get lung cancer have never smoked.”
He added: “I can’t even remember her having the flu and she rarely had a cold. Her immune system was like bulletproof...it was a massive shock.”
In a tribute to Sarah on Wednesday, Gateshead Parkrun posted on Facebook: “It is with great sadness that we convey to you the news that our lovely friend and parkrunner, Sarah Garrett, tragically passed away last night after seven months of bravely living with cancer.
“Sarah was very well known in the running community and was a longtime member of Saltwell Harriers. But she was also a regular visitor to Gateshead Parkrun from its very early days, along with her husband Scott and their three children, Jack, Robbie and Harry.
“Their eldest son, Jack – at a very young age – was soon winning all sorts of course records as a budding young runner and went on to complete some of his Duke of Edinburgh volunteering with us too. With Sarah and Scott’s enduring support and commitment, all three boys successfully participated in so many sports including running, rugby and football.
“Sarah was so proud of Scott and the boys and it was clear to anyone who knew them how inspired by her they all were. Last month, they all (including Sarah) took part in the Race for Life in Saltwell Park, raising an astonishing amount of money – over £6,000 – for cancer research.
“She was so proud of the support the boys gave her that day, and in seeing their youngest son, Harry, take first place in under 18 minutes for a 5k run! Sarah herself never gave up running when she discovered the news of her illness and everyone was delighted, but probably not surprised, to see her strength and determination when she continued to come along to parkrun to run on Christmas day 2021 and into the new year ... and in a faster time than most of us could ever wish for!
“We all send our love and condolences to Scott and the boys and an assurance that we’ll never forget Sarah, a beautiful, brave, focussed, loving and inspirational woman.”