Story
On 9th June I finished the South Down’s Marathon in a time just shy of 5 hours. This was a cross country marathon with a total elevation gain of 5728ft and an elevation loss of -5523ft (next time I will read the pre-entry information more closely I think!)
Most importantly, due to everyone’s generosity, I am very pleased to say that £3500 has been raised for the “Gift of Sight” Charity, which is conducting research into a cure for Macular Degeneration, the most common cause of blindness in the Western world, which will affect ~1 in 3 of us during our lifetimes.
Thank you very much to everyone who has given so generously to Gift of Sight and supported me in this challenge.
Although not well known, Age Related Macular Degeneration (AMD) is the most common cause of blindness. The cells of the macula (retina) become damaged and stop working. It is a condition that typically affects people over the age of 50. Amazingly, by the age of 75 around 33% of people have some symptoms, increasing to a huge 50% by the time they reach 85. Although people do not lose all of their sight, reading, recognition of faces, driving, watching television and independent living can become increasingly difficult.
There is currently no cure, although much work is done to make living with the condition less daunting. Encouraging genetic research is being undertaken by “Gift of Sight”, but more funding is needed to stop this touching so many people’s lives in the future.
To motivate you to donate to this cause, I’ve tried to find a real challenge. So I’m going to try to rediscover my youth/sporting prowess and forget about my love of food, while I prepare for a cross country Marathon in June which takes place in the South Downs in Sussex (good thing there aren't too many hills there!)
AMD is an issue that is close to home as my Father has the condition. He, like many others, is approaching it in a very positive manner, but a cure needs to be found quickly for this condition as it will unfortunately affect so many other people (particularly given an ageing population combined with ever increasing life expectancy).
Thanks for taking the time to visit my JustGiving page.
Donating through JustGiving is simple, fast and totally secure. Your details are safe with JustGiving – they’ll never sell them on or send unwanted emails. Once you donate, they’ll send your money directly to the charity and make sure Gift Aid is reclaimed on every eligible donation by a UK taxpayer. So it’s the most efficient way to donate - I raise more, whilst saving time and cutting costs for the charity.
So please dig deep and donate now.