Hello and thank you for clicking the link to reading my story and my reason for running the London Landmarks Half Marathon for The ME Association on 1st August 2021, delayed from 29th March 2020.  M.E. touched my life 20 years ago September 1999 ……. Please take just a few minutes and read on …….

The long name of this illness is Myalgic encephalomyelitis (M.E.), but it is sometimes helpful to think of the condition as chronic fatigue syndrome or post-viral fatigue syndrome.

Momentum has been building over recent times towards understanding this complex and mis-understood condition and we could be closer than ever to finding ways to diagnose and then treat and cure the 250,000 people in the UK that suffer from this debilitating, life changing  condition.

Symptoms include but are not limited to;- profound and disabling fatigue that affects mental and physical ability that a good night’s sleep will never change.  Exercise induced long lasting muscle fatigue, short term memory loss, inability to articulate what you are thinking – often referred to as ‘brain-fog’, constant muscle pains, sleep disorders, on going flu-like malaise, sensitivity to noise, smell and light and heat, sensitivity to chemicals either in food or in the environment.

The physical symptoms can be as disabling as multiple sclerosis, systemic lupus erythematosus, rheumatoid arthritis, congestive heart
failure and other chronic conditions.

M.E. is a neurological condition (recognized by the World Health Organisation) for which there is no test and can only be diagnosed by testing for and eliminating other diseases. 

M.E. is a biological disease, it is a serious, chronic, complex, and multisystem disease that frequently and dramatically limits the activities of affected patients

M.E. often develops after a viral infection

M.E. can develop at any age in people of all backgrounds and
cultures.  This condition with no confirmed cause or agreed treatment or cure is now a major cause for school absence.

Some people are bed bound, house bound or even tolerate their
lives living in just one room unable to live any kind of normal life often for decades waiting for help to get their life back.

As with so many good causes we need more research to find
the diagnosis, treatment and cure of this illness.

Around two years ago I had the opportunity to raise money for charity
for the ME Association and signed up for it quickly and then thought – oh my – what the hell have I done???  I have never done anything like this before!!

Training started and went on and on and on because of cancellations and delays.  I have run about 1,300 miles during my continued training in an attempt to stay fit enough to still take part and now finally we have a new date just

**** 11 sleeps left******

Please join me and be a part of this exciting time for research into this condition, a donation of any amount is a little closer to achieving the dream of 250,000 people and their carers and family.  

Please donate as little or as much as you can even if you think it won't make a difference to my just giving link and in return I promise to run along side 14,999 other runners on 1st August 2021 in Central London  If you are not able to donate at this time, please
throw your loose change in a jar when ever you can and then donate what ever you have managed to hoard by race day. 
If you are not able to help us at this time then please share this link
with friends and family on Facebook or tell them all about my challenge.  You never know who knows who and they may want to donate and I guarantee that either you or one of your friends also knows someone with ME and may then be able to donate.

Lastly – thank you so very much for reading my story xxxx