This year myself, my partner Luke and a couple of close friends are taking on the challenge of running the Belfast City Marathon to raise money for research into Huntington’s disease — a cause that is deeply personal to me.

At the start of last year, my dad was diagnosed with Huntington’s disease. It’s a devastating, progressive condition that damages the brain. Symptoms usually appear between the ages of 30 and 50, and over time it affects a person’s ability to think, reason, walk and talk, eventually leading to the need for full-time care.

Huntington’s is not only life-changing, it’s also life-limiting. There is currently no cure. Even more difficult is the fact that each child of a parent with Huntington’s has a 50/50 chance of inheriting the faulty gene.

Researchers like Dr Shouqing Luo and his team at Plymouth University are working alongside international experts, clinicians, and the pharmaceutical and biotech industries to explore new ways of treating this condition at a cellular level. Their work offers real hope for the future, but progress depends on funding and support.

With your help, we can move closer to effective treatments and, one day, a cure. Your donation will help bring hope to the estimated 5,700 people in the UK currently living with Huntington’s disease, and to families like mine.

Every contribution, no matter the size, means so much. Thank you for your support 💙