Hi everyone!

As most people will know (I will not shut up about it), I will be running the Hackney Half Marathon on the 17th of May.

I'm running to raise money for Alzheimer's research UK in honour of my brilliant Dad Hugo, who was diagnosed with early onset alzheimer's in 2014 at the age of 51.

Dad had an incredible mind. He was fluent in 5 languages (Irish, French, Spanish, German and Welsh) and would teach himself several others for fun. He was fiercely passionate about politics, history, and the Celtic football team. He loved technology and photography, famously he made his own 3D camera - a contraption of 2 digital cameras glued together - which he would wear round his neck on family holidays and embarrass his daughters. In spite of this, he was a brilliant Dad, and I miss him every day.

Dad has been living with this disease for over 12 years, and is facing the final stages now. The impact it has had on his life, and on our family, is indescribable. I am hoping to raise £500 to go towards researching new treatments, so that families like ours might have a different outcome in the future.

I will be running in honour of my Dad and other young people who have lost a parent to early onset dementia. Any donations are massively appreciated.

Go raibh maith agat / thank you,

Mairéad