<p>On 13th November, Alex will be running the original Athens marathon in support of Alkis Goulandris and the MS Society.</p> <p>Alkis, who is an old friend of Alex's family, was the person to originally persuade Alex to start running, being a seasoned marathon runner himself.</p> <p>Alkis has recently been taken ill with ADEM (Acute Disseminated Encephalomyelitis), a very rare condition, similar to MS, which damages the myelin sheaths surrounding the axons in the brain.&nbsp;</p> <p>Although people often make a good recovery from ADEM, Alkis has had a case so severe it put him in a coma for over two months. Despite this, he is slowly but surely improving, and his family are hopeful he can come back from this.</p> <p>This will be Alex's third marathon, and first Athens marathon, often said to be one of the most challenging due to the difficult terrain and rural stretches without crowds to cheer the runners on!</p> <p>Alex will be raising money for The MS Society, the UK's leading MS charity. All sponsorship proceeds will go towards a specific medical research project being funded by the Society which hopes to find a treatment for MS and other demyelinating diseases like ADEM.</p> <p>More information on the charity, and the specific project being funded by your donations can be found here:</p> <p>http://www.mssociety.org.uk/ms-news-and-research/ms-research/research-projects/cure&nbsp;</p> <p>Thank you for your support - it means so much to Alex, Alkis and his family.</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p>Donating through JustGiving is simple, fast and totally secure. Your details are safe with JustGiving &ndash; they&rsquo;ll never sell them on or send unwanted emails. Once you donate, they&rsquo;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&rsquo;s the most efficient way to donate - I raise more, whilst saving time and cutting costs for the charity.</p> <p>So please dig deep and donate now.</p>