Thank you for taking the time to visit our Justgiving page. The four of us - Laura, Tim, Gemma and Bobby - are fundraising for the Motor Neurone Disease Association as it's a cause very close to our hearts.

Motor Neurone Disease (MND) also known as amyotrophic lateral sclerosis or ALS - (you may remember the viral ice bucket challenge in 2014) - occurs when specialist nerve cells in the brain and spinal cord, called motor neurones, stop working properly. This is known as neurodegeneration. MND is an incredibly cruel and frightening illness - there's no cure, it simply takes you bit by bit.Jackie (mum to Laura and Gemma and mother-in-law to Tim and Bobby) experienced a number of symptoms which gradually developed over time. It started with a weakness in her leg and a hoarse voice, followed by slurred speech and extreme tiredness. For those who knew Jackie, this was really out of character - she was always whizzing around after the family or working on the latest crafting project. While we all knew for quite a while that something wasn’t right, nothing could have prepared us for January 2022 when she was eventually diagnosed with MND.

The truly awful thing about MND is the fact that there is no cure and little treatment. To see the person you love deteriorate is almost too difficult to articulate or comprehend - it’s simply heart-breaking.

As Jackie battled with the illness, the four of us decided to come together as a family to run a marathon and raise funds for the Motor Neurone Disease Association. As well as being a focus and distraction at a difficult time, it was a comfort to know that money raised will help support other sufferers and their families.

Sadly, after moving into Farleigh Hospice the day before, Jackie passed away on Wednesday 22 February 2023 with her family by her side. Nothing could have prepared us for that day and the impact she leaves on our lives will be forever felt. In her legacy, we’re continuing to train and in our own way continuing to fight back against this awful disease – we’re jogging for Jackie.

The challenge

We’ll be running 26.2 miles at the Rob Burrow Leeds Marathon on Sunday May 14, 2023. It’s a new marathon in honour of the Leeds Rhino Legend Rob Burrow who was diagnosed with the disease in December 2019. You can watch and learn more about Rob and MND via this link.

The training

Official training plans are now well under way, new trainers have been broken in and the frustrations of old injuries already felt, but we’re all committed to making it to that finish line. Gemma has run a marathon before, so we’d put our odds on her completing it first (although she's popped a couple of kids out since then!) The rest of us are novices, so this really will be a challenge - painful but so worthwhile. We've also heard there's a particularly challenging hill at mile 17 – 19 – eek!

We would be eternally grateful for any support you can give - it will mean so much to us on race day. At the same time, we’re also very aware that we’re asking for support in the middle of a cost of living crisis, so please only donate if you can. Your moral support and well wishes are just as valuable as any cash donation.

THANK YOU for your support.

Some info about what this money could go towards:

£120 could provide an overbed table, making it easier for someone with MND to eat, drink and read safely and comfortably in bed

£230 could fund the coordination of care for someone with MND at a Care Centre for a year

£500 could provide a tablet device with specialist communication software, allowing someone to communicate with loved ones

£750 could fund an MND expert researcher for a week

Every penny raised from The Rob Burrow Leeds Marathon will bring us closer to achieving our ultimate mission; a world free from MND.