Our sloth running club members Rachel Radford, Ian Mitchell, Vanessa Fenning, Katie Smith, Arthur Nye, Julian Shaw and Jeff Carew are running to raise funds for Max Appeal, a charity that supports families affected by 22q11 deletion syndrome. 

Most of us have only ever run 5km before but we are rising to this challenge together because Rachel’s daughter Eloise has 22q11 deletion syndrome and we want to raise awareness of this condition.

22q11 is a genetic condition which has over 180 medical conditions associated with it, from congenital heart defects, cleft palate, dental issues, learning difficulties, digestion issues, hearing loss, joint pain, speech and language difficulties, Autism, mental health difficulties among many more. It causes big challenges to those affected and their families but often goes undiagnosed and unrecognised by medical practitioners and in education.

We think it is worth pushing ourselves to run 10k as it is nothing compared to what Eloise and others like her have been through and deal with daily. We’re supporting Rachel and her family to raise more awareness and so that children like Eloise get diagnosed and supported sooner.