Thanks for considering helping MER. I am grateful "ME" symptoms are now recognised as a condition by medical professionals in spite of the challenges throughout the years.

I believe MER and similar orgs who try to create a better future for sufferers and their families should be given further support.

This post relates to me raising funds to compete in the 2022 Marathon du Mont Blanc. A (survival?) race which is a 42km run through the alps with a 2730m altitude. 

This has been a  29 month training focus driven by my frustration on ME sufferers who still are not being treated as seriously as they may wish and TBH the naivety around this. 

Today as I revise this page I am 43 years old. Dad must have been around this age when his “lazy-itus“ started !!.. 

In my fathers case,  Hand swellings, cold pain & consistent tiredness seems to be normal and acceptable (!!)  He is now “not interested” as I suspect he has been let down too many times by the professionals in the early days. 

In Dads case he was a high performing SAAA athlete with a pro active approach to his amateur running and family life maintaining a healthy work life balance.

One day he became “tired” but  wouldn’t “let on....”  John Anderson (Gladiators) used to support him as a coach. I don’t know John , dad rates him highly as got his blood moving apparently? 

Dads medals and trophy’s have all been thrown away yet I have seen a glint in his eye on my MDM efforts and a few comments.. 

I was young but do remember mum buying pretty much all of the local supermarket energy drinks for months on end. In spite of this dad didn’t have enough energy to get out of bed and yet there was medically “nothing wrong with him.” 

The purpose of this post is not for sympathy but more to recognise that this is a unique condition which could do with more investment & support to learn and identify routes to solutions for others. 

I am aware ME research has evolved over last 20 years and I really hope we can continue progressing in this science as we have ( not like my dad! ( old school! ) 

I believe MER https://www.meresearch.org.uk has the right approach on supporting research and exposure on this tough condition. How could a disease this common and this devastating have been forgotten by medicine?" Jennifer BreaME Research UK believes that only biomedical research can find the causes of ME/CFS, improve diagnosis and treatment, and, ultimately, arrive at a cure. That’s why research is our focus. We've awarded 53 grants since 2000 and invested over £1.7million. But research is expensive and becoming more so every day. That’s the challenge we face, and that’s why we need your help.