A CANCER survivor has conquered the ‘toughest mountain race in the world’ just one year after undergoing surgery to remove a malignant tumour from his liver.

Army officer Alex Price, 38, was diagnosed with a cancerous tumour last year. He had an operation at Southampton Hospital to remove the cancer, along with 60 per cent of his liver, in May 2018.

Now, just 12 months after leaving hospital, he has completed the Dragon’s Back Race – a 315km route across the Welsh mountains that almost half of participants were unable to finish.

“Even on the start line it’s hard to comprehend the distance,” said Alex.

“It was almost a year ago to the day that I had the operation, so quite poignant in that respect.

“Coming out of my operation I thought this was something to aim for and to train for.”

Alex spent six months training for the race, and says he had to start from scratch as he “hadn’t really done proper running for a number of years”.

The race itself took him five days, starting on May 20 and ending on May 24, when he crossed the line in 138th place. Of the 402 runners who began the race, only 237 finished it.

Alex continued: “Luckily my body held up until literally the final half of the final day. I couldn’t even bend my knees, I was hobbling in. If that had happened any sooner I probably wouldn’t have made the time.”

He also says his experience facing up to cancer may have helped give him a mental edge.

“Going through what I went through, you do sort of stare into the abyss and it can be a dark moment, but I guess coming through that does give you a mental strength.”

Alex is already planning his next challenge — a 700km, 30-day trek across the Pyrenees — but that was far from his thoughts when he finished the Dragon’s Back Race.

“I went straight to the pub after with my wife and parents. That was the main thing in my mind — to go have a beer.”