In 2019, my dear grandmother was diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease. Although she is holding up fine today and is currently still in the early stages, the disease is slowly creeping up on her and making her life more and more difficult by the day.

Witnessing this energetic, kind and passionate woman lose her memories, communication skills and abilities to perform everyday tasks is heartbreaking, to say the least. Not only is it making the lives of everyone around her much more difficult, but it is making her own life endlessly challenging as she slowly loses grip on the memories and skills that have defined her identity over the course of her life.

Unfortunately, my grandmother is not an isolated case, with this disease being all too common around the world today. About 1 in 9 people aged 65 and older worldwide (10.7%) has Alzheimer's disease. However, today there is no cure for the disease.

I will be taking part in the 2024 London Landmarks Half Marathon for two reasons. The first is to honour my grandmother and express the immense love and support I have for her before it gets too difficult for her to understand it. The second reason is to raise awareness and funds for the amazing organisation that is 'Alzheimer's Research UK'. This organisation is the UK's leading dementia research charity.

Your donation would help scientists and researchers find new ways to diagnose dementia, develop new treatments, and eventually find a cure for Alzheimer's so no man or woman has to end their lives in this way again.

Watch and share our new film: https://bit.ly/ARUKForACure