Brilliant. You've made it on to my JustGiving page. Thank you!! That's the hard part over with. All you need to do now is donate a little bit of your hard earned cash to a great cause. 

I'm running the Great North Run to raise money for the Sheffield Institute of Translational Neuroscience (SITraN). Based at the University of Sheffield,  SITraN's scientific research programmes are dedicated to developing effective disease-modifying therapies for patients with neurodegenerative disorders such as Motor Neurone Disease (MND). 

The establishment and continued work of SITraN is essential in the fight against MND. MND is a fatal disease that causes muscle weakness, loss of mobility and difficulties with speaking, swallowing and breathing. More than half of patients die within two years of diagnosis. Researchers at SITraN are working really hard to change this.

As some of you know, my amazing mum, Margaret, died from MND in 2010, the year SITraN opened. The decline in her mobility was devastating, but even more distressing was the loss of her speech. My mum had always been such a chatterbox- we used to say she'd win Olympic Gold if talking was a sport! Not to be able to communicate with her friends and family as she had always loved to do was heart breaking. 

The photo above is of the two of us in happier times in front of the Tyne Bridge (which I will run over as part of the 13.1 mile run on 9th September). I'd really like to raise as much as I can to support the continued efforts of the team at SITraN who are working towards finding a cure for MND.

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. Thank you. X