On the 12th September, I will be running the Thames Path Ultra Marathon – a 100km run, which I aim to complete in under 11 hours, to raise money for Alzheimer’s Research UK in memory of my Nana, Rose, who passed away in December last year.

She was the kindest, funniest and most caring person you could ever meet. Everyone who knew her, loved her.

Sadly, she suffered with dementia for a long time. Watching someone you love slowly change because of this cruel disease is heartbreaking. As her dementia got worse, we saw less and less of the Nana we knew so well, and it felt like another person was taking over. But even in the hardest moments, our real Nana would still shine through.

One memory I will never forget was visiting her in her final few days, a couple of weeks before Christmas. My girlfriend and I sang Jingle Bells to her, and after struggling to say any words to us for the whole visit, she managed to say was “hey” at the end of the song. It was such a small moment, but showed me again that our true Nana was still there.

A few days after I complete this challenge, the 16th September, will be her first birthday not with us. I have chosen to do a 100km ultra marathon as I know that it will be an incredibly difficult challenge for me, it will hurt, and there will be so many times throughout my training and the race that I will want to give up, but this is nothing compared to what my Nana and hundreds of thousands of people living with dementia go through every day.

If you are able to donate, no matter how small, it would mean so much. Thank you!