When she was 14 years old, Ruth Page was diagnosed with Behçet’s Syndrome, a rare disease which affects only around 2,000 people in the UK.

Behçet’s causes inflammation in blood vessels through your body. Some symptoms include mouth sores, eye inflammation, skin rashes and lesions, and genital sores.

Unfortunately, on the 12th June 2013, Ruth was taken from her loving family and her friends by this horrible illness. She died from a portal vein thrombosis – a blood clot in the vessel that provides blood to the liver. On her death certificate, Behcet's disease is listed as a secondary cause.

Ruth Page was a beautiful girl who loved her family and friends and bought light to all those around her. Her smile was infectious and even in her death bought her friends and family together to celebrate how brave and inspirational she was.

In her blog ‘Tired-of-Behcets’, Ruth wrote “Look what this illness and its treatment has done to me in just a year, it’s destructive and awful and people need to know of its existence and know they aren't suffering alone...”

So in memory of Ruth, on the 2nd March 2014 I'll be running the 13.1 miles of Bath that is the Bath Half Marathon. I'm not the fastest or strongest person, but i'll have the smile of an angel motivating me.

By sharing her story and raising money for Behçet’s Syndrome Society, I hope that Ruth will be remembered and that we can raise awareness of this disease that is so commonly misunderstood or misdiagnosed and to provide support to those suffering through it, the way Ruth provided support and inspiration to others.

Thank you for any donation you are able to make to help, or even if you are not, thank you for reading Ruth’s story and I hope she will serve as an inspiration to you.