Hi there!

Thanks for visiting my justgiving.com page which is set up
for the benefit of Alzheimer's Research UK.

On 23^rd November, I’m embarking on the exhausting
‘Cyprus International Challenge’, which involves 4 races in 4 consecutive days. This is in memory of my father who passed away last year having had vascular dementia. I say that he had it, and he certainly had some form of dementia, but he was only diagnosed by his GP and so there was no consultant-led formal verification, and no treatment.

He had been in a care home for the last two years of his life, and had been in a state of cognitive decline for many years before, as
far as us, his loved ones were concerned. The various agencies of the NHS were unable to detect nor diagnose his form of dementia across many attempts by us for him to be assessed, even while he was performing the role of key carer for my mother. It was only determined when he was in hospital for treatment on a post-fall broken shoulder that something was wrong, and so he moved on to his first care home. From there he met the GP but was never taken to a formal assessment to get a dementia disease diagnosed. Thus, treatment was never on the cards. Perhaps in
his case it was already too late, but we did not get the chance to find out.

This year I am supporting Alzheimer’s Research UK to raise
£5,000 for a diagnosis related project, that is exploring ways to diagnose Dementia with Lewy Bodies – the third leading cause of dementia in the UK – earlier than is currently possible. Research into earlier diagnosis is vital as it could directly benefit every one of us, just as it may have benefited my father. I am also supporting Alzheimer's Research UK’s health messaging around
reducing the risk of dementia, with the advice being ‘what’s good for your heart is good for your brain’.

I don’t have a lot of statistics to hand, but it is estimated the one in three children born today will develop dementia, regardless of where they live. The money raised will be placed directly into a
specific diagnosis related project, led by Prof Alan Thomas at Newcastle University. The results of research in improved diagnosis techniques will hopefully lead to better treatment opportunities.

Now, time to tell you more about what I’m doing to raise the
money for Alzheimer's Research UK. Many of you already know that I am a keen runner and have raised money in the past by taking on the London Marathon. This time I am taking part in an event called the ‘Cyprus International Challenge’ which involves 4 races in 4 consecutive days from 23rd November. 

Day 1 will tempt immediate exhaustion with my first ever time trial race (entrants set off 10seconds apart in random order) over 6km – do I pitch this at my best 5k pace, or do I take it more gently? 

Day 2 starts at dawn with a 12k race which is
entirely uphill – I am told almost 1km climb – which seems destined to turn my legs to jelly. 

Day 3 starts even earlier with a half marathon distance, taking
in steep descents to turn the other half of my legs to jelly, before the final day 4 challenge of the Paphos city 10k where we are joined by fresh-legged single race competitors! 

Total distance is more than a marathon, and the added challenge for me is running with legs that have tiredness well baked into them each morning. If I could average around 5 minutes per km for the whole thing then I would be delighted or amazed, not sure which. 

Climatically I can expect average conditions for the month of August in UK and a sun with plenty of heat still in it - makes things a bit tougher still.

So I hope by this point you feel inspired to back me in funding this project which may at some point transform our own lives.

Thank you for your attention!

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.