As many of you will know, in 2016 my wonderful Dad, Colin, died from Motor Neurone Disease.

Within a year of diagnosis, from a healthy person feeling a slight numbness in his mouth, he lost almost all of his muscle mass, was nearly unable to walk or speak, and couldn't eat or drink. He also needed to spend much of the day on a ventilator to keep his oxygen and carbon dioxide levels within a reasonably safe range. 

Not only is there currently no cure for MND, there is also no treatment. Simply put, modern medicine and the NHS really did do it's best for my Dad, but there was little more than making him as comfortable possible. 

There are no known risk factors other than genetics, so cutting out smoking or eating healthier won't stop you getting it. And once you have that diagnosis, the average life expectancy of the most common form of MND is just 12 months. 

And that's the reality for the 5,000 people diagnosed with MND in the UK right now. 

While my Dad was ill, when somebody asked what was wrong it was easy to see if they had experienced MND before, as their face inevitably crumpled and the reaction of "oh, that's a horrible, awful disease" shortly followed. 

The Motor Neurone Disease Association not only funds research into treatment and cures for MND, but it also helps people living with the disease and their carers.

We received a wealth of information from them, and they also helped us get set up with the right specialists to fully coordinate Dad's care. In addition, they loaned text-to-speech machines and other equipment which could have cost us into the thousands. 

If by running this distance and raising money for the MNDA, I can make one family's journey slightly easier, or help to fund research that could find an effective treatment or cure, then that will make me very proud. 

If you knew my Dad, you will understand why he was my best friend. And you will know that he was fiercely proud of his heritage in Birmingham. That's why I have chosen to set myself the challenge of running the half marathon through the streets that he knew, loved, and introduced me to. 

And if you know me - you know that this will be a challenge and a half (pun intended). If you went to school with me, you know I skived off every PE class I possibly could, and I have barely done any exercise since. 

Due to covid this race has been pushed back twice, and is now happening on May 1, 2022.

In order to train for this, I have been running as much as possible, but this has been hampered by my own health issues, including two operations! I picked up the intensive training in early 2022, and it has so far been incredibly difficult! 

When I started by running a couple of Parkrun's - I was capable of running approximately 4 minutes of the total 5k. So I have a long way to go. If you want to follow my journey, I will be updating on here, and on my Facebook and Instagram pages using #ChelseaRunsForMNDA.

Thanks for taking the time to visit my JustGiving page. If you choose not to donate to my cause, please do consider donating to a charity close to your heart. Even a small donation could produce an information pack like we received, which I can tell you firsthand made a world of difference. 

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.