Virgin London Marathon

[p][b]Thank you for visiting my page, I am running the London marathon for the Cure Parkinson’s Trust! But why, I hear you ask? [/b][/p][p]I was a relatively successful youth/junior 400m runner competing in national, county and borough competitions. My granddad, Arthur, would come along to the track to support and encourage me whenever he could. It wasn’t until I was 15 or 16 that I began to properly understand that my granddad had Parkinson’s, and the physical effort it took him to come along and watch me run. He was a true inspiration to our family up until he died. It was less than a year after his death that his son, my Uncle Alan, was also diagnosed with Parkinson’s Disease. More recently, another family member, Peter has also been diagnosed, so Parkinson’s is something that has been around our family for many years now. Over these years, we have all seen first-hand the effects of the disease and have all felt the impact of it. [/p][p]After a long time away from the sport, I returned to running 4 years ago, and joined my local club – Petts Wood Runners. Being a sprinter then trying to run long distance, initially it was like starting again from scratch but now I run 4 times a week and regularly compete in races for the club. I am also part of the captain’s team, which involves helping out where I can behind the scenes for the club. Since returning to running, to be able to compete in the London Marathon has been a huge personal goal of mine, being a proud Londoner and runner also. To run in the event whilst raising money for The Cure Parkinson’s Trust is really the icing on the cake. Parkinson’s is something all my family are familiar with, given all our experiences of the disease. As a family, I’m sure everyone will embrace it, as it is an amazing opportunity for us all to give back to the CPT. [/p][p]The Cure Parkinson’s Trust funds work to slow, stop or reverse Parkinson’s. They fund both clinical trials and preclinical work which seeks to open up new avenues in the search for a cure - all of which have the potential to make a real difference to the lives of people living with Parkinson's. Thank you so much in advance for your donation, rest assured you will be making a real difference. [/p]