Story
I feel very privileged to have been chosen to run and raise money and awareness for Alzheimer’s Research UK at the London Marathon 2026.
Alzheimer’s is a disease that has had a profound impact on my family throughout my entire life, as it has on millions of others. Dementia, of which Alzheimer’s is the most common cause, is the leading cause of death in the UK, and almost 1 million people are living with the condition. There is currently no cure.
I’ve experienced first hand the devastation of seeing someone you love lose themselves to Alzheimer’s, and I hope that one day no one has to go through the fear and confusion that patients experience, nor the heartbreak and sense of helplessness that carers and family members go through.
My nana was diagnosed with early-onset Alzheimer’s before I was born, with her sadly passing away when I was 4. As my grandpa wrote in a memoir to me and my brother, “she never enjoyed her greatest desire to be a grandmother”, and I missed out on ever knowing who she really was. Fifteen years later, my grandpa, who was such a key part of my childhood and from whom I take my love of words and writing, was diagnosed with the disease. I don’t know whether I believe in coincidences or whether it’s the resoluteness of the human subconscious, but my grandpa passed away 19 years to the day after his wife, on 12th December 2019.
My journey with running started in early 2020, when a plan to swim the Great North Swim to raise money for Alzheimer’s Research UK, on what would have been my nana’s birthday, was foiled by Covid. I swapped my goggles for trainers and have never looked back, and I’m honoured to get to run my first marathon for a cause so close to my and my family’s hearts.
There are no treatments available on the NHS to slow or stop Alzheimer’s, and any donations you can spare will drive research to find a cure. Within the next decade, Alzheimer’s Research UK want people to be able to access life-changing treatments for the diseases that cause dementia.
I’m running in memory of my nana, my grandpa and my wonderful dad, who lost both of his parents to the disease.
Thank you for taking the time to read my story. I would be so grateful for any donations to raise money for a cause that means so much to me and to spur my little legs on during the winter training.
Love, Charlotte x
