Well I did it! Manchester Half Marathon completed!

So proud. Thank you everybody.

The day didn't get off to a good start when the trains to Manchester were cancelled, but once I got to Manchester, the atmosphere was amazing.

I did wear the Strawberry costume and I'm so glad I did. The support en route was fantastic. So many people shouting "Go Strawberry" and lots of children shouting "Look there's a strawberry" Hopefully it'll encourage them to eat their 5 a day.

I thought about Simon and Mikey and Matthew, which spurred me on so many times and made me realise why it was important to do this.

All money raised will go to funding research, hopefully developing treatments and one day soon, finding cures.

Thank you everybody.

xx

Thanks for taking the time to visit my JustGiving page.

The Gem Appeal is celebrating its 30th Anniversary in 2024.

Karen Johnson started the Gem Appeal charity when her 2 sons, Simon and Mikey were diagnosed with Hunter syndrome, a rare genetic disease for which there was no treatment or cure. She had to watch her 2 precious boys deteriorate both mentally and physically, before sadly they lost their fights for life at the age of 12. Over the past 30 years, money raised by Gem Appeal supporters has bought lots of medical equipment and funded pioneering research to develop treatments which reduce symptoms, give better quality of life and increase life expectancy. Children who are benefitting with treatments are riding their bikes, going on to college, running their own businesses and even performing in Singing competitions in Australia. Things Karen's boys never got to do.

We've come a long long way together and there is still a lot more to do in the future.

I am getting older, but still love my running and I want to complete my first (and it might be my last) Manchester Half Marathon raising money for The Gem Appeal in this our special 30th Anniversary year.

If, and only if, I exceed my target and am lucky enough to raise £1000, I will run the Half Marathon in my Strawberry costume, as a special nod to our annual Gem Appeal Strawberry Sparkle Ladies Lunch and the genetic fact that 60% of DNA present in strawberries is also present in humans. Who knew?

Please donate if you can to support the Gem Appeal funding research and finding cures. If my child was diagnosed with a rare genetic disease I would like to think that help, support and treatments were available. Thank you. Wish me luck! xx

Donating through JustGiving is simple, fast and totally secure. Your details are safe with JustGiving - they'll never sell them on or send unwanted emails. Once you donate, they'll send your money directly to the charity. So it's the most efficient way to donate - saving time and cutting costs for the charity.