Hi - my name is Gayle and I live with Sjogrens Disease.

This year is a big year for me as I turn 60 and so I decided to run a series of races (hopefully one a month) in order to not only raise monies for this worthwhile cause but to also raise as much awareness as possible for this disease. I had never heard of Sjogrens until I was diagnosed with it at the beginning of 2021 but its effects are quite wide ranging. My life now is completely unrecognisable from what it was before which is why the butterfly is often used as a symbol of autoimmune diseases. I have grieved for the life I have lost and am constantly learning how to live within the boundaries of what this disease will and will not allow me to do.

I had started running just shortly before diagnosis and although the journey has been quite rough at times I feel I am now in a place of management. So to now push the boundaries is quite a big ask of my body. Training for races for anyone takes a lot of time and dedication and can take a lot out of the body but for someone with autoimmune diseases it is a whole different ball game. The picture shows how Sjogrens Disease can affect the body at any given time either singularly or severally at any given time and in any order. Some suffer with severe issues all the time where for others the issues come and go but the common factor is the dryness never goes away.

I am training with my dog Carrot who loves to run and I am hoping I can get him up to marathon distance by the end of the year but as the temperature rises I don't run with him if it goes above 20c so not sure if we will get there but I think we will.

The races I intend to run are:

16/03/25 - Thirsk 10 miles (completed)

20/04/25 - Roundhay Park ½ marathon (completed)

25/05/25 - Northallerton 10k (completed)

29/06/25 - Harrogate 10K

03/08/25 - Temple Newsam 10k

26/08/25 - World Dog Day - virtual dog run dependent on temperature

14/09/25 - Wetherby 10k

19/10/25 - Yorkshire Marathon

November - Carrots Marathon

Sjogrens UK have been so supportive and the information they have concerning this disease is wide ranging and this is what helped me to find the answers I was looking for so to be able to give a little back will be wonderful.

Thanks for taking the time to visit my JustGiving page.

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