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This year I will be running the Great North Run in memory of my fiancé’s younger brother David, who passed away from Motor Neurone Disease at the age of 31.

MND kills the nerves in the brain and spinal column which are responsible for voluntary movement - that's things like moving your arms and legs, talking, swallowing and breathing. It kills about 1 in every 300 people in the UK and there is currently no cure, effective treatment or even an easy way to diagnose it early on.

It goes without saying that this is an extremely distressing process to go through or witness happening to a loved one. Dave was diagnosed around 15 months before his death, and had been experiencing progressively worsening symptoms for about 7 months prior to his diagnosis. He went from competing in Iron Man triathlons and ultra-marathons to needing round-the-clock care for all his needs, feeding through a tube, communicating with a computer and breathing using a ventilator during the course of these two years. Sadly this rate of disease progression is completely typical for MND.

My fiancé and I are getting married in September, on the weekend following the Great North Run. It will be a joyful occasion but it will also be bittersweet: if Dave were here today he would have been Pete’s best man. Dave is missed by many. His wife Philippa, his parents Andrew and Sarah and so many friends and family members. I will be running the GNR for all of them. And for Dave. 

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