On The Up: 24-year-old Aucklander with cystic fibrosis running 12 marathons in 12 months to raise $25k

Aucklander Ben Prince-Saxon, 24, is running 12 marathons in 2025 to raise funds for Cystic Fibrosis New Zealand.

Ben Prince-Saxon was diagnosed with cystic fibrosis when he was 4 years old. In 2025, he’s undertaking a huge challenge: running 12 marathons, one for each month of the year, to raise money for Cystic Fibrosis New Zealand, a charity that has supported him and his family since his diagnosis.

Auckland cafe manager Ben Prince-Saxon has been living with cystic fibrosis for almost as long as he can remember.

“I was diagnosed with CF [cystic fibrosis] when I was 4, in 2004,” he recalls.

From that point on, “a lot of things changed” for him and his family, as he started different medications and physiotherapy techniques to help clear his lungs to keep them healthy. But as he grew older, his symptoms worsened, making daily life a lot harder for him than for others his age.

“In the later teen years is when I felt it the most, just basic day-to-day life, things getting a bit tricky,” Prince-Saxon explains.

“Less energy, no longer keeping up with my mates on the football pitch and just a lot of coughing.”

Those symptoms led him to experience “a lot of social anxiety” as well, he says. “I [didn’t have] a lot of confidence meeting new people.”

Two years ago, Prince-Saxon started taking Trikafta, which was first funded for cystic fibrosis patients in New Zealand in April 2023.

“It changed everything,” he says.

“I started it on a Friday and then over the weekend, it was just my body clearing out all the mucus that was built up in my lungs that wasn’t able to be cleared.

Ben Prince-Saxon (centre) was diagnosed with cystic fibrosis at 4 years old.

“Since then, it’s been easier to gain weight, I’m coughing a lot less – before Trikafta, I would have been coughing maybe like every five to six words in a sentence, but now I’m barely coughing at all.”

While his lung function hasn’t improved to the level he would like, he can now breathe properly through his nose, unlike before.

“I just have a lot more energy to run, to do everything in life that a ‘normal person’ would be able to do,” he says.

It hasn’t just given him relief from his symptoms, but a future to look forward to.

“Pre-Trikafta, my life expectancy was about mid-thirties, more or less,” he says.

“Trikafta is estimated to give people with CF an extra 27-plus years of life on top of their mid-30s, which is incredible.

“My outlook on life has definitely changed a lot, just kind of knowing that there’s roughly double the amount of time I thought I was going to be here for.”

Ben Prince-Saxon is fundraising to give back to Cystic Fibrosis New Zealand, a charity that has supported him and his family since his diagnosis.

Prince-Saxon started running in January 2023 before starting the drug, in the hope it would help his body to benefit from the treatment. In the years since then, running has come to mean a lot more to the 24-year-old.

“It’s one thing I’ve just really wanted to push myself into, not having been able to run like I can now before Trikafta, and just wanting to push the limits of the new life that I’ve been given.”

Now, he’s using it as a way to give back. Last year, he ran three half-marathons and three full marathons, and as he approached his final run in October, he decided to take on a new challenge in 2025 to fundraise for Cystic Fibrosis New Zealand.

“Somehow, 12 marathons in 12 months clicked, and then that’s the idea I ran with straight away.”

He’s since completed four marathons and raised $5,300 through a Givealittle page.

“So far, so good,” he says.

“The reception from all my friends and family was pretty cool and fundraising took off pretty well. In the past two months, it’s slowed down a little bit ... [that’s] the tricky part in trying to learn what to do differently.”

Four marathons into his challenge, he says he’s physically coping so far.

“I did the fourth one at the beginning of this month [April] and that was tough. That was definitely the toughest marathon yet, because I ended up doing about three in six weeks from February to April.”

Asked how it feels to see how many people have donated to his Givealittle page so far, Prince-Saxon says: “It means just about the world.”

“Cystic Fibrosis New Zealand [CFNZ] is a charity that gives back to the CF community, so my ‘why’ for choosing them is they have helped me since I was diagnosed, and my family, with positive things like sports gear and whatnot.

“All the money fundraised goes to CFNZ and then essentially goes back to the community and events to help generate further awareness for CF and help other kids and families and adults with CF throughout New Zealand.”

What is cystic fibrosis?

Cystic fibrosis is a life-threatening genetic condition that causes the lungs and digestive system to be blocked with thick mucus, which can cause chronic coughing, infections or weight problems. The severity will vary from person to person; some will have fewer symptoms than others.

In New Zealand, most people are screened for CF as babies. There is no cure, though there are treatments available. The average life expectancy for people with CF is believed by specialists to be in the mid to late 30s, according to Cystic Fibrosis New Zealand.

The drug Trikafta, which has been hailed as life-changing, was funded by Pharmac in 2023 for Kiwis with CF aged 6 and over who meet certain criteria.