Hi folks,

Sophie and I have (gulp) signed up for the 2019 Great North Run.

We’re joining 38 others in a joint effort, forty by forty, with the aim being to raise £40,000 as a team for Alzheimer’s Research UK. Anything you donate on our page will contribute to the overall target which you can see on our team page. We’re aiming to hit £2,000 between us (sweary gulp!).

Sophie has never attempted a half marathon before and whilst it’s my third attempt I’m pretty far from being ‘match fit’ so it’s fair to say we’re a tad nervous! Nevertheless we are committed to getting in shape and doing you all proud!

Why forty by forty?

We’ve both had family members suffer from dementia and know the toll this terrible illness takes. When Marge put out the call for runners we both wanted to be part of such an awesome cause and, particularly as parents, to try and make a difference for future research into overcoming dementia.

The reality of research into dementia

At £24 billion each year, dementia costs the UK economy more than cancer and heart disease combined, but over two thirds of the care for dementia patients is paid for by themselves or their family.

Dementia research currently gets 13 times less funding than cancer so it needs all the support it can get.

Most of us know someone living with dementia – today there’s over 850,000 people diagnosed in the UK, but this is predicted to reach 2 million by 2051.

What your donation will go towards

Alzheimer’s Research UK receive no government funding for their research and are completely dependent on supporters to fund their research programme:       

• £20 raised pays for 1 hour of pioneering dementia research
• £100 raised could provide the tools for scientists to map 10,000 genes in minute detail, identifying targets for the development of new treatments
• £500 raised will cover the cost of a sensitive brain scan for a patient involved in a research study, tracking the effectiveness of new drug treatments, improving diagnosis and better understanding how diseases like Alzheimer’s wreak their havoc in the brain
• £1000 raised will pay for reagents, unique chemicals that are crucial for successfully growing cells in a laboratory ready for disease study
• £2500 raised will allow researchers to buy synthetically made amyloid, to better understand this hallmark Alzheimer’s protein in the lab.

Thank you for any contribution!

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.