On Sunday 27th April 2025 I am running the Manchester Marathon in the name of my uncle, Franco, and to raise funds for a cure to Motor Neurone Disease (MND).

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.

£120 could provide an overbed table, making it easier for someone with MND to eat, drink and read safely and comfortably in bed.

£280 could fund the coordination of care for someone with MND at a Care Centre for a year.

£500 could provide a tablet device with specialist communication software, allowing someone to communicate with loved ones.

It was thanks to my uncle Franco that I started running in 2017. I was doing a PhD in an American university and had gained some weight because of the sedentary life that graduate students often lead: always stuck in the library without much physical activity. That summer, I came back to Italy for research and to embrace a healthier lifestyle. My uncle encouraged me to pick up running and accompanied me on my first steps.

I had never run before. In the beginning, it was terribly hard. After a couple of kilometres, I would be sweating and panting and shaking. It felt terrible. My uncle was very patient, running alongside me and encouraging me to persevere. I soon grew to love the sport. Franco was my favourite coach and running partner. Whenever I could, I trained with him. We ran all over Rome, in its beautiful parks, alongside the river Tiber, and past the stunning monuments. The first races I ran—the half marathon of the “Castelli Romani”, the Rome-Ostia half marathon, and the Rome marathon—were all thanks to my uncle’s encouragement. In the end, he was running less than me, preferring shorter distances, but still accompanying me on his bicycle. Together, we did the beautiful 10k “Corsa dei Santi” that crosses Rome city centre and arrives at the Vatican. It was an unforgettable experience.

Two years ago, my uncle started to have trouble walking. We could not understand how such a fit, active person could have such a problem. After seeing several doctors, he received an awful diagnosis: Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, known as ALS, the most common form of MND. At first, I refused to believe it: the cruelty and pain of this disease, the unfairness of it. My uncle is now bound to a wheelchair, and his health is progressively deteriorating, with little hope of relief.

Franco’s sufferings have opened my mind and my heart to the many who share this illness—one that does not yet have a cure. Rather than feel helpless, I want to do everything I can to help people like my uncle, by raising funds to help researchers defeat this disease. I’m sustained by the knowledge that cures have been found for diseases that once seemed unbeatable. I’m running to beat ALS, to beat all forms of Motor Neurone Diseases, and to show Franco that I’ll never give up on him.