My darling wife Emma fell ill with ME after catching a virus 4 years ago. Before then she was very active, and would do physical challenges especially around milestone birthdays. Sadly she can‘t do that for her 50th and so it is incumbent on me to do it instead! Albeit a slightly more modest distance! Thank you so much if you do!! ME is a neurological disease that affects around 0.2-0.4% of the population (c.265,000 people in the UK) – including children and adolescents. Its the commonest cause for long-term sickness absence from school in the UK. Cases are rising dramatically across the world due to COVID. M.E. can cause greater functional impairment and poorer quality of life than many other serious medical conditions. We need to find a way to combat this debilitating condition which has so profoundly affected us as a family.