Story
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 11pt; color: black; font-family: Arial;">Finally made it round Cologne in 6hrs 24mins. What started out as an enjoyable event didn't feel much like it from about halfway onwards - was definitely glad to see the finish! Thank you to everyone who made donations to <strong>Speakeasier </strong>and helped to reach my target!</span></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 11pt; color: black; font-family: Arial;">On Sunday 4 September, I will be running the Cheltenham Half Marathon followed closely by the Cologne Ultra Marathon on 2 October – a distance of 39.3 miles. Having never run this kind of distance before, I'm hoping to raise money for the multiple sclerosis charity <strong style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Speakeasier</strong><strong style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">.</strong></span></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 11pt; color: black; font-family: Arial;">Based in Cheltenham, <strong style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Speakeasier</strong> is an independent, national UK charity established to provide speech aids for people with multiple sclerosis (MS) and is run and organised entirely by a dedicated team of unpaid volunteers.</span></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 11pt; color: black; font-family: Arial;">There is little statutory funding available for speech aids on the NHS. If someone with MS is unable to walk, the NHS has a duty to supply them with a wheelchair but if they cannot talk, there is no statutory obligation to supply them with a speech aid.</span></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: justify;"><strong style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 11pt; color: black; font-family: Arial;">Speakeasier</span></strong><span style="font-size: 11pt; color: black; font-family: Arial;"> aims to raise funds to provide speech aids for </span><span style="font-size: 11pt; color: black; font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">MS patients suffering with severe speech impairment </span><span style="font-size: 11pt; color: black; font-family: Arial;">when this statutory funding is not immediately available. T</span><span style="font-size: 11pt; color: black; font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">his is only done through fund raising and donations.</span></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 11pt; color: black; font-family: Arial;">Thank you for taking the time to visit my JustGiving page.</span></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 11pt; color: black; font-family: Arial;">Matt</span></p>
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