So, many of you know that I’m often out running, just for my own fitness and now Bailey has decided to get involved in running too and decided that he wanted to run a marathon! – in a bid to stop him from going head first without training into a main marathon, I suggested we run for charity and perhaps look at a half marathon first and I’d run with him in memory of nanny ( mum), who was diagnosed and lived with PSP for around 8-10 years.

After putting our ballot in for the London landmark half and being told that we were not successful and there were no PSP charity positions available, we took our foot off the gas on our training and continued to run for fun…… until the email came saying good news! …PSP have been awarded more charity positions and you’re in!!!!

So….. here we are…. Training to run the London Landmarks Half Marathon on the 12th April 2026!!! (https://llhm.co.uk/) plenty of time you say…. However, for someone that’s never run 10k, to get the distance up to around 22k this is seeming quite daunting. However, Bailey as usual (with youth on his side) is taking it in his stride and makes it look like a walk in the park!!!! And is certainly very encouraging of his old mum along the way.

For those of you who didn’t know my mum /Bailey’s nan, this degenerative disease meant that our family, extended family and close friends saw her go from a very independent confident Lady, into her golf,having been Captain of the local golf club, enjoying Pilates and looking after Bailey on a regular basis( in his younger years) and all round amazing woman, to being a shadow of her former self. She lost her swallow function, couldn’t speak and lost the total use of the left side of her body, which was fixed rigid in what looked like the most uncomfortable position. She became totally dependent on Dad/Grandad - which you can imagine is highly difficult to adjust to and frustrating for a lady that was always so immensely capable. Seeing her deteriorate over the years was heart breaking, but to the end she always tried to communicate with our thumbs up and thumbs down conversations and her face would light up especially when Bailey would visit!.

With mum / nan losing her battle with PSP in January 2023, I (Natalie) decided to help others with this condition and have been volunteering at the local support group every other month for nearly two years now. PSPA is a national charity providing support and information to people living with PSP (Progressive Supranuclear Palsy) and CBD (Corticobasal Degeneration ), while funding much needed research into treatments and with the view to ultimately finding a cure. For the moment their aim is to improve the lives of everyone affected by this degenerative disease. The charity relies entirely on voluntary donations, and this is why we need your support. We want to raise awareness for the charity and to help them continue the fantastic research and support they provide to people living with PSP. If you would like to know more about this condition and the charity, then please head to https://pspassociation.org.uk/information-and-support/.

We know mum/ nan would think we’re crazy to even try to run this distance, but we know she would be proud of us for getting out there and doing something worth while!

We’ll try to keep you appraised of our progress and if any of you fancy coming out and showing your support along the route then that would be fantastic and I’m sure we’ll probably go find somewhere to toast mum / nan after!!! ( if we can still walk!)