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My name is Katie and 68 of my amazing friends and family are joining me in running the full/relays (or the 8-Mile Walk) of the Belfast Marathon on 5th May 2024 to raise money and awareness for the MSA Trust; the only UK charity dedicated to researching and supporting everyone whose life is affected by multiple system atrophy.

What is MSA?

Multiple system atrophy (MSA) is a rare condition of the nervous system that causes gradual damage to the nerve cells in the brain. This affects balance, movement and the autonomic nervous system which controls several basic functions, such as breathing. MSA causes a rapid decline in movement and speech, making it a life limiting disease which impacts daily life. On average it affects just 3,300 people in the UK, meaning it is rare and extremely overlooked. There is currently no way of slowing its progression and no cure. People with MSA typically live 7 -10 years after their symptoms start.

The symptoms are very similar to that of Parkinson’s – making the two diseases hard to distinguish in the early stages, leading to many misdiagnoses. Unfortunately, this was the case with my dad.

Why are we raising money for MSA?

As some of you may know, my dad was diagnosed with Parkinson’s Disease in 2016, however in August 2022 we were told that it was not Parkinson’s, but it was in fact MSA. As you can imagine, this was a tough pill to swallow for him and the rest of the family. Despite having been given a Parkinson's diagnosis, my dad and family were never made aware of MSA and the possibility of a misdiagnosis; proving just how overlooked it is and how important raising this awareness is.

With it being such a rare, overlooked and underfunded cause, I feel it is extremely important to raise awareness and funding for this great charity. The only charity that studies MSA and supports those diagnosed and their families on how to understand and best cope with life with MSA.

Most importantly, I want to show my dad how many people care enough to show up for him, our family and this cause – whether it be running, walking or simply showing support through donations and sharing posts/this page etc. Let’s please rally around my dad and show him how much we care and are supporting him in every step of his fight against this disease. You never know, maybe there is a cure out there and we just need to push to get it!