Alex has suffered from Pernicious Anaemia since he was 16. It's an autoimmune condition that attacks the part of the stomach that absorbs vitamin B12, which in turn affects the production of red blood cells. With an increasing deficiency of healthy blood cells, you slowly become more and more fatigued, confused, and ill. It causes a wide range of of symptoms, from the loss of sentences to aphasia and depression.

This is easily treated with regular B12 injections. Unfortunately, the NHS doesn't recognise that for most sufferers this is a lifetime treatment, so many people have a course of injections but find their symptoms returning. Unlike in other countries like France and Germany, you can't buy B12 injections over the counter to self-administer injections. 

The Pernicious Anaemia Society want to change this. It's a vital charity that offers patients and health professionals the latest research and guidance to help their symptoms, and lobbies for change in NHS Treatment.

We're running the Paris Marathon to raise money for PASOC, and to show that with regular B12 injections you can lead a normal life and take on a marathon.