Thanks for taking the time to visit my JustGiving page.

As many of you know running became my summer challenge - for me and a charity close to me, Diabetes UK. 

Now it's my turn to repay a kind gesture a friend Mark has done for me, he designed and made my birthday invites - not a small task! So I said I'll do a 10k for a charity of his choice. 

Please support me by supporting Kidney Research UK. Every penny helps research into the prevention, treatment and management of kidney disease which Mark still suffers from today.

Please take a moment to read Mark's story:

Mark was born in 1973 and as a baby it became very apparent early on that there was blood in his urine.

Numerous tests revealed that he had been born with kinked ureters (the tubes that run from the kidney to the bladder). He had an operation to raise them to the surface in an attempt to straighten them which meant he had to wear urostomy bags for a while. Child bags hadn’t been invented back then so he had to wear adult bags rolled up. Sadly the operation failed and by the age of 12 he was put on the transplant list. He had his first transplant in 1986 and the kidney worked well for 23 years and then sadly failed. It’s important to note that transplants are only a treatment not a cure and then can fail.

After attending Bath Renal dialysis unit for Heamo dialysis, Mark and his wife were identified as suitable for home dialysis. This meant several months of training, on how to use the machine, look out for alarms, solve any issues, take blood samples, administer iron infusions etc. Sam effectively became Mark’s dialysis nurse. Their third bedroom became the dialysis room.

After being on the waiting list for 5 years, Mark’s auntie stepped forward to be a potential live donor. She was a very good match and the transplant happened 1 week before Mark’s 40^th birthday.

Unfortunately things didn’t go well at the start and he spent a month in hospital while they fought to stop it rejecting after the kidney got badly infected after Mark was not able to pass urine after surgery. Thanks to the unknown prostate problems.

After some very unpleasant treatment the kidney recovered enough for him to be allowed home. For the past 8 years Mark's kidney function has remained steady at around 15 – 20%, his medication is currently under review as his function is slowly worsening.

I know a few close to me who have been affected by kidney problems. Anyone can be affected by this, the more research the better. More updates to follow. Stay glued and show me some love and encouragement please.

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.