Please help us to support people with ME and their families.

ME (Myalgic Encephalopathy), or Chronic Fatigue Syndrome, blights the lives of 250,000 people in UK today. The smallest exertion can floor them; their joints and muscles ache unbearably; restful sleep eludes them; and ‘brain fog’ clouds their thinking. It changes lives drastically – disrupting study; making work impossible; and straining family relations to breaking point. Many sufferers cannot leave their homes. There is no known cure.

Please help us to help them with our ongoing campaign.

Following a huge effort and an incredible response to a request for sponsorship for the London Marathon 2023 we have not stopped but have been continuing to do whatever we can to raise awareness and funds for ME. Our chosen charity remains the ME Association. This will be the 15th time I have run the London Marathon and the third time of doing it for the MEA as the Virtual London Marathon (VLM) as I was unlucky in the ballot for a place once again this year.

The write up at the top of the page by the MEA itself says it all about how this dreadful and hidden illness at its worst can destroy lives and break families. For us seeing a formerly super fit and active young woman felled to doing almost nothing is devastating both for her and for us. No parent wants to see their child so ill. Of course in our case immense distance exacerbates all that as my wife’s daughter lives on the other side of the world in Australia. This means we cannot give the everyday help and support that would be possible if we lived in the same country or even on the same continent. Worse still there is no quick fix. However we can channel our energy and efforts into something positive by raising urgently needed awareness and funds to support research and help everyone afflicted by ME.

The boot sales we undertook to start the ball rolling for this page showed us that we are not alone in our distress. We encountered so many people who have experience of this illness personally or through a relative or friend and were willing to share their own journeys. Some of their stories were heartbreaking. Then there were those who did not know about ME but wished to learn about it. Some bought items, bought and donated or simply donated. Some time and time again. They all contributed to ensure we have been able to open our 2024 Virtual London Marathon page with an amazing total. As with all our wonderful sponsors last year, this is another example of the incredible generosity and caring of ordinary people being extraordinary.

We feel sadly there is no expiry date for this illness so long as there is no solid diagnosis, no solid treatment and as yet no cure. However we also believe that there is no time limit on support. We are hopeful that with your continued sponsorship we can work towards a day when the current position is no longer true.

Thank you for taking the time to visit this page. Thank you for donating whatever you feel able to give. It is quick, easy and safe to do using the button below.