Update 24/07/2021

Me and my friend Ryan completed the Yorkshire 3 Peaks in 8hrs 21mins. Thank you everyone for the donations. It means a great deal to me. 

Update 23/07/2021

It’s been a long year for everyone since I last updated but the good news is The great north run is going ahead on the 12/09/2021. I’m also doing the Yorkshire 3 peaks tomorrow in aid of MND. Please sponsor me if you are able. If everyone could share my page that would be great. Thank you very much. 

UPDATE 08/07/2020 - Sadly the Great North Run (GNR) 2020 is now cancelled but I have committed to doing the GNR 2021 and have been able to carry all donations to date over to GNR 2021. I'm still doing a half marathon 13th September 2020 locally and then for the 5 weeks after the half marathon I will be doing mission 5000 for MNDA (details to follow nearer the time). You can see my training progress at the bottom of this page as my Strava automatically uploads when I've been out running. Thank you all for donating to this great cause. Stay Safe, Dave x

Hello everyone, thank you for taking the time to visit my JustGiving page.

First of all, I hope you're all well. I realise it's a hard time for a lot of people at the moment, especially financially so please don't feel pressured to donate. If you are in a position to donate that's great. Either way if you could please share this page on any platform you can to help me raise as much money as possible and to raise awareness of MND generally.

In September last year I decided that in 2020 I really wanted to try and do something to make a difference to someone's life. I quickly decided that I was going to run the Great North Run for MNDA (Motor Neurone Disease Association). Motor Neurone Disease (MND) is a fatal, rapidly progressing disease that affects the brain and spinal cord. It attacks the nerves that control movement so muscles no longer work. It can leave those with MND locked in a failing body, unable to move, talk, swallow or eventually breath. There is currently no cure for this horrific disease killing a third of those diagnosed within a year and more than half within 2 years. 

My aim is to raise as much money as possible. The following are just some examples of how important the money raised will be to someone with MND and their loved ones. £30 buys an adapted cutlery set to help someone with MND to continue to feed themselves, £160 will enable two people to bank their voices (voice banking is a process that allows a person to record a set list of phrases with their own voice, while they still have the ability to do so). £550 could fund a tablet device with communication software, giving a person with MND the ability to communicate. £600 would fund a seat riser allowing someone with MND to raise their wheelchair so that they can reach shelves and talk to someone at eye level. 

I would not describe myself as a 'runner', I haven't properly ran more than a handful of times in the last 2yrs. I've recently purchased new running trainers and a Garmin Watch to help me train ahead of the day. I want to complete something that will challenge me but also create some good in the world and for others during what is a very difficult time for everyone.

Any money raised will go some way to help find a cure and/or make someone diagnosed with MND enjoy a better standard of their remaining time. Please help me make a difference. The event isn't until 13th September 2020. I am hoping we are back to normality by then. As far as I am aware there are currently no plans to cancel/ postpone the event. If that changes I will still be running the total of 13.1 miles on the day from my home around York. 

Stay safe, Dave Collins

If you're able to donate please leave your name when doing so, so I can thank you personally. I'm getting a lot of anonymous donations so I cant see who's donated the money and don't want people to think i'm not hugely grateful. 

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.