I’m running the Cambridge Half Marathon with Alzheimer’s Research UK for my Dad. 

Alzheimer’s is one of the world’s most cruel diseases. Everybody reading this is likely to have their own story about it, and I certainly have seen more of it than I ever imagined.

My father was diagnosed with early-onset Alzheimer’s in 2017 but he has been suffering from this disease for much longer (since I was about 11). It’s much harder to diagnose in younger people because it presents in different ways, and it took 4 separate tests between 2009 and 2017 to get this final diagnosis.  

My family’s entire life has been affected by this illness and we made the very difficult decision last summer to move our beloved dad into a nursing home so he could continue to receive the right level of care that was no longer possible at home. I’m challenging myself with this run because I want to help save other families the sheer grief we’ve been through and work to find a cure.

If you’re like me, you like knowing how your contribution will help so here is an idea of how ARUK can use the money we’re raising to help families like mine:

• £25 will help keep the Dementia Research Infoline open so people can get info and guidance when they need it most

• £100 pays for a state of the art imaging system that gives a clear understanding of how brain cells act and react 

• £250 will help map 10,000 genes in minute detail and provide even more clues for treatment targets 

On behalf of my dad and my whole family, thank you for your generosity. 

Eleanor x

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