I will be running in the London Marathon on October 2, 2022, to raise money for Sarcoma UK, in memory of my daughter Sayako, who died eight years ago on October 3, 2014.

Sayako was born in 1987 in Cambridge, UK, but moved to Tokyo, Japan in 1988, and her first language was Japanese. She returned to Cambridge in 1993, aged six, and attended the Perse School for Girls (now the Stephen Perse Foundation). She then gained a BSc in Anthropology from the London School of Economics, and a Master’s degree in Computer Science at University College London, where she carried out a research project on automatically-translated online messaging. After her studies, Sayako remained in London, working as a researcher for the writer and broadcaster, Ben Hammersley, on his book, 64 Things You Need to Know Now for Then: How to Face the Digital Future without Fear. In October 2012, she moved to Tokyo having been recruited by Rakuten, the largest e-commerce company in Japan.

In early 2013, only three months after starting her new career, Sayako was diagnosed with cardiac angiosarcoma and returned to the UK for treatment, and to be close to her loved ones. She died on 3 October 2014 in Cambridge. She was very much loved by many.

You can read more about Sayako’s story, and how her legacy includes the establishment of a series of Ph.D. studentships in basic research on sarcoma, here: https://sarcoma.org.uk/our-research/sayako-grace-robinson-phd-studentships/.

I am deeply grateful for all the funding and support contributed already by so many of Sayako’s friends and family (including four London Marathon runners). I am also determined to carry on helping to understand sarcoma better through research, to improve the treatment of current and future patients. If you would like to support this goal, please contribute something to my marathon fund-raising.
Thank you!

Thank you for visiting my page. I’m supporting Sarcoma UK, a national charity that funds vital research, offers support for anyone affected by sarcoma cancer and campaigns for better treatments. Sarcoma is a type of cancer that develops in the bone and soft tissue. It is difficult to diagnose and one of the hardest to treat. By supporting me, we can help change this. Your donation will help researchers find answers, keep our Support Line open, and raise awareness to improve treatment and standards of care. Thank you for your support.