Thanks for taking the time to visit my JustGiving page.

This year I have decided to get fit and do my very first running event, so I have jumped in at the deep end and opted for a 10k! eeek!
I have decided to raise money for Alzheimer's Research UK which fund world-class scientific research to find ways to prevent, cure or treat Alzheimer's disease and related dementias, including vascular dementia, Lewy Body disease and fronto-temporal dementia.

My grandad had dementia for the last year or so of his life and by the end of it had no idea who I or most of his family was. Its a very difficult disease to deal with, not for the people who have it but the ones around them. I am raising money for this worthwhile cause to help find a cure so no one else has to go through their grandad (or any other family member) forgetting them.

There are 820,000 people living with dementia in the UK today, a number forecast to rise rapidly as the population ages.
Just 2.5% of the government's medical research budget is spent on dementia research, while a quarter is spent on cancer research. 1 in 3 over 65s will die with some form of dementia.

820,000 people in the UK live with Dementia. Dementia costs the UK economy £23 billion per year. That is twice the cost of cancer (£12 billion per year), three times the cost of heart disease (£8 billion per year) and four times the cost of stroke (£5 billion).

Combined government and charitable investment in dementia research is 12 times lower than spending on cancer research. £590 million is spent on cancer research each year, while just £50 million is invested in dementia research. Heart disease receives £169 million per year and stroke research £23 million.

For every £1 million in care costs for the disease, £129,269 is spent on cancer research, £73,153 on heart disease research, £8,745 on stroke research and just £4,882 on dementia research.

Caring for each dementia patient costs the economy £27,647 per year: more than the UK median salary (£24,700). By contrast, patients with cancer cost £5,999, stroke £4,770 and heart disease £3,455 per year.

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 and make sure Gift Aid is reclaimed on every eligible donation by a UK taxpayer. So it’s the most efficient way to donate - I raise more, whilst saving time and cutting costs for the charity.

So please dig deep and donate now.