Thanks for taking the time to visit my JustGiving page.

After several years of investigations, my wife Alison and I were informed in 2010 that our youngest son Owen has a genetic condition called SEPN1 Myopathy, which is a form of Muscular Dystrophy. Apart from the initial shock and surprise we knew very little about the condition. In simple terms Owen suffers from very weak muscles, this means climbing steps, walking far, riding a bike, swimming are all challenging. Even heavy doors can be impossible for him to open. In general he is a great happy boy who loves PC Gaming! He is super light, weighing under 4 stone at 14 years of age, but he can eat whatever he likes with no worries of putting on weight! (Unlike me, his dad!) I weigh the same as four Owen's! 

Owen tries to participate in all he can, but as you can imagine physical sports like football and rugby can be difficult, but he enjoys watching The Blades! His two older brothers keep an eye on him and Owen holds his own when it comes to banter.

Naturally the outside muscles are visible, in the sense of arms and legs, but of course the heart and lung muscles are equally, if not more important. Owen currently has scoliosis, which is common with such a condition and being rather tall doesn't help, therefore Owen has a major operation later this year to straighten his spine with rods. This is so he doesn't crush other internal organs as well as make him as comfortable as possible.

Unfortunately the condition makes you, as parents, pretty useless, there are no magic pills it is a case of managing the situation. Owen has a full and comfortable life, with normal school where he has some great friends. Due to this I wanted to put myself to a challenge and help support this wonderful charity in order to support research etc. I'm not built for running but enjoy exercise as well as going to the pub, unfortunately the two don't go together so well but with some effort I am confident I will drag my 51 year old frame round the 13 miles of the Great North Run on the 9th September

I will try and keep some posts updated on my training as well as how Owen is getting on. If you wish to sponsor me please find the link below, thank you so much!

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.