When I heard that my friend had been diagnosed with Motor Neurone Disease (MND) my fourth thought was ‘Oh God, now I’m going to have to run the marathon.’

Obviously my first and second thoughts were for Catherine and her family. A life cut short, the loss of a partner, a mother, etc, etc.

Catherine’s diagnosis came on top of the loss of another friend to MND. Sheila was only diagnosed shortly before she died so wasn’t able to access the help and support that is now available at the Rob Burrow Centre and that is supporting Catherine and her family.

My third thought was ‘what can I do to help?’ Apart from the fact that I live on the other side of the city, Catherine has a great support network around her, so it wasn’t going be anything practical. Having said that if she wants a vegetarian chilli bringing over or help with dog walks she only has to ask.

Which brings me to the marathon. I have always said I wouldn’t run a marathon. I didn’t feel I needed to, my big running goal is to be still running half marathons aged 80 (I’ve got to 65 so far). I much prefer trails to road running, I don’t like big events, or crowds (probably something to do with undiagnosed autism). But then I saw Kevin Sinfield’s latest effort running 7 ultramarathons in 7 days and I thought if he can put himself through that, then surely I can run one marathon.

So I’ve entered the Rob Burrow Marathon in Leeds on 10th May. I’ve set myself a target of raising £1,000 for MND – will you help me?

The money raised will go to supporting people living with MND like Catherine and to research into finding a cure. For example, £700 could fund one month’s lab equipment and consumables for a PhD student working on vital MND research in the search for a cure; £945 could help someone whose muscles are weakened by MND to stand up more safely, and sit and rest more comfortably by funding a riser recliner chair.

MND is a cruel degenerative disease and there’s no cure so far - it is a terminal illness.

The profile of the disease has been raised by sportspeople like Rob Burrow and Dodie Weir, but it can strike anyone. To the best of my knowledge neither Catherine nor Sheila ever played rugby, or headed a football.

No matter how big or small, every donation matters. Thank you.

Thanks for visiting my JustGiving page supporting the MND Association.