I'VE NOW FINISHED THE RUN, MANAGED TO FINISH JUST BEFORE THE MAN DRESSED HEAD-TO-TOE IN A DRAGON OUTFIT INCLUDING WEBBED FEET. 

Apart from beating dragons, this is what motivated this run:

Last year, my brother Dan suffered the sudden onset of Goodpastures, a rare disease which attacked his kidneys. He was admitted to intensive care at Southampton General Hospital, then later transferred to Portsmouth, the specialist renal unit for the Solent area. We watched as his health declined further, culminating in a sudden arterial bleed. Thanks to the quick actions of renal unit staff, he was resuscitated several times.  We were grateful too to the army doctor who came to Portsmouth on his day off to successfully operate. We can’t imagine how Dan could have managed the ambulance trip back up the M27 to Southampton for cardiac surgery when he was so unstable.

Dan survived all this thanks to the skills and care of the NHS as well as blood and platelets donated by people like you and me. Regaining kidney function is not the norm, indeed almost everyone told Dan that he would need a transplant. Our Mum made many trips to Portsmouth being ‘worked up’ for kidney donation and we were expecting the transplant operation to happen in April 2015. But, against the odds, Dan’s kidney function improved to above the threshold for dialysis and even transplant, so he is now living a more or less normal life. His boys, both under 5, can enjoy going to the park and out on bikes with their Dad.

Both Dan and I live in Southampton and it seems like a good challenge for me to run the first ever Southampton half marathon, to raise money, awareness and celebrate good health in our city of parks and open spaces.

Please donate to this cause in which ever way you can – a donation of money through this page, join my Pledge a Pint campaign by giving blood, donating platelets or by registering on the UK’s organ donation register. The money raised will go towards research at the Portsmouth hospital’s renal unit to find out how renal disease can be controlled so more families can enjoy healthy lives together for longer.

Thanks for taking the time to visit my JustGiving page.

Donating through JustGiving is simple, fast and totally secure. Your details are safe with JustGiving – they’ll never sell them on or send unwanted emails. Once you donate, they’ll send your money directly to the charity. So it’s the most efficient way to donate – saving time and cutting costs for the charity.