As some of you may already know, I’ve been training for the last month or so to compete in the Rat Race Dirty Weekender (I can hear some of you giggle on how apt that may be) on Saturday May 11.  For those that don’t know what this is, you can check it out here –

www.ratracedirtyweekend.com

In short, it’s a 20 mile assault course with 20 different military standard obstacle zones.  For those that have heard of or are familiar with Tough Mudder, this is twice as tough and is in fact the largest assault course the world has ever seen.

Why!?  Well I got roped into it by a few footy mates from Sloane FC, the team I play for on a Saturday and having already made the decision not to drink any alcohol from new years day until my birthday on May 2, this race being on the 11 gave me something else to focus on.

Despite giving monthly, I have never individually raised any money for charity, which is something I have wanted to do very much and have always been inspired by those that run the London marathon - but obviously not enough to endure the laborious training that goes with running 26 miles.  Take 6 miles off and stick 200 military obstacles in the way and I’m game…. Weird!?!?

So…. The point is, I have decided to run this for my chosen charity, Dementia UK, in loving memory of my father Sid.

It wasn’t an easy choice and as most of you may know, Brad and I were unfortunate enough to have lost both our Mum and Dad, 6 and 4 years ago.  Mum passed away from a heart attack and Dad died of a blood clot on the brain having fallen down some stairs in a care home.  Although Dad had actually been suffering from the early stages of Dementia for a few years, the condition was beginning to have and effect on all our lives.  I decided to run for Dementia as I feel the British Heart Foundation gets plenty of support whilst not many are fully aware of Dementia and everything that comes with it, so helping to raise the profile of Dementia UK became my priority.

“Sorry Mum, but the fat old git has got his own way again”

Dementia is a funny old one, and Brad and I certainly learnt that embracing it for what it is, instead of trying to fight it was most definitely the easiest way to cope.  The old saying of “if you can’t laugh, you’d cry” has never been more apt than when dealing with Dementia.  Laughing at dad’s sometimes idiotic statements and daft actions, most notably the classic of answering the phone with the TV controller and turning up the TV with the mobile phone, seemed to bring laughter and smiles all day long.  But it becomes very difficult when Dementia magnifies the smaller characteristics in someone that are best hidden and rarely seen – stubbornness, spite, anger.  You have to constantly remind yourself that this isn’t actually coming from the mind of the person you have known your entire life and is just in fact the extreme effects of Dementia, which I can assure you is the hardest and most emotional hurdle to overcome.

I’m very proud to be doing this for my Dad and I know my Mum would be very proud of me too, and I would be very humbled and extremely grateful if you could do what you can to support my chosen charity and help me raise the awareness of Dementia in the UK. 

Many thanks

Russell