In May I’ll be taking on both my first marathon in Copenhagen on the 5th and then later the London 2 Brighton Challenge, a 100km ultramarathon on the 25th.

I’ve chosen to raise money for MND Association because of the great work they do in helping people affected by the disease. MND has been at the forefront in recent years in my life through rugby with Doddie Weir’s and Rob Burrow’s battles, but also on a personal level too. In August 2018 my uncle, Tony, was diagnosed officially with MND and passed away after a painful battle in December 2019. He was a brilliant man, as a teacher and keen sportsman he would always stick up for the underdog. I’m running so that those like Tony can have a better chance at fighting MND.

Motor neurone disease (MND) is a progressive disease that attacks the motor neurones, or nerves, in the brain and spinal cord. This means messages gradually stop reaching muscles, which leads to weakness and wasting.

MND can affect how you walk, talk, eat, drink and breathe. However, not all symptoms necessarily happen to everyone and it is unlikely they will all develop at the same time, or in any specific order.

Although there is currently no cure for MND, symptoms can be managed to help you achieve the best possible quality of life.

£160 could fund a specialist communication app for a tablet/smartphone/laptop to enable a person with MND to continue to communicate with loved ones.

£280 could fund the co-ordination of care for a person with MND at a care centre for a year.

£1000 could pay for detailed analysis of the DNA of someone with MND to help us better understand the causes of the disease.