I was diagnosed with Motor Neurone Disease  (MND) in June 2016. MND is always fatal and I was given 18 months to 2 years to live. My aim is to stay alive at least until my 66^th birthday on 15^th November, long enough to raise £10,000 to fund vital research and care for people living  with  MND.  

So I’m taking part in the Great South Run in Portsmouth on 21 October and I’m looking for sponsorship and runners who want to join the team.   I have completed  five marathons - the last one only four years ago -  and run many other races for charity.   My running days are over, in fact I now can’t get up from a chair or bed unaided, let alone walk.  My breathing was the first thing to go and now my hands are also getting weaker.

So this time I will be pushed round in a wheelchair by my wonderful friends from Run MND.  I will  have to have the heavy ventilator with me so I won’t exactly be light to push and it will also be really hard work for me too, particularly as  my condition will have  further deteriorated by then. 

So there is no guarantee that I will be able to complete the 10-mile course but I’ll do my damnedest.  If I can’t be there somebody will take my place so please sponsor me on that basis.

To make the biggest impact possible I will  personally match any funds raised up to the value of £5,000.  So  for every pound you pledge, the MND Association will get about £2.40 after costs, as long as you also gift aid it.

This will be my last chance to do my bit to fight MND.  At present there’s no cure and very little by way of treatment.  Care for people with
MND is basically palliative but the MND Association is able to help sufferers in many ways. 

They are  major funders of vital research.  We’re nowhere near finding a cure but researchers are making progress and we all desperately
need to make sure that it is funded properly.  They also do fantastic work around the country, including providing 22 specialist care centres, support for local volunteers, home visitors and specialist nurses.  They also provide grants for vital equipment to improve quality of life.

If you want to find out more about this terrible disease, have a look at this summary. To find out how your money will be spent, look
here.  I can guarantee that your money will be spent well and will make a big difference to people like me.  To find out more about me or to see letters of endorsement for my fundraising appeal from the MND Association and from Manchester City Football Club, please email me.

Finally a big thank you to RunMND all my family and friends who have supported me in  lots of different ways and a special thank you to my sister-in-law, Heather Bailey, who  already raised and sent off to MNDA a fantastic £1,370 In a separate appeal.