We are Epilepsy Society's Genomics Research Team and we are dusting off our trainers to take on one of the country's most popular running challenges - the Royal Parks Half Marathon.

We will be dedicating hours, days and weeks to train and fundraise for the 13.1 mile challenge that will take place on Sunday 14 October through London's iconic Royal Parks. As part of this challenge, we are hoping to raise £10,000 to purchase a vital piece of research equipment to be housed at Epilepsy Society's Research Centre in Buckinghamshire. Listen to Sanjay, Meneka and Katri talking in this short video about their training and why they are running for Epilepsy Society.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FKVSkJ1suXA

The equipment will form the central part of our TMS (Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation) project. TMS is a safe way of looking at how the brain actually works in a living person without putting anything into the body. TMS is helping us understand what happens in the brain in epilepsy, and how the working of the brain can be affected by genetic changes that lead to epilepsy. We have recently secured generous funding that will allow us to explore even more of the brain using a state-of-the-art version of TMS, called TMS-EEG. This will be an important step forward in developing precision medicine for epilepsy, getting closer to the right treatment at the right time for each person.

TMS needs the person having the test to be comfortable and relaxed, so that the readings we get accurately reflect what is happening in the brain. We are running to raise funds for the very special chair that will mean people having TMS can rest easily whilst the test is done, giving us the best results.

We would be so grateful for any donation you can give towards our fundraising efforts. With your support we can continue to make strides towards personalised treatments, so helping to improve quality of life for people with epilepsy. So thank you from all of us and everyone you will be helping!

Professor Sanjay Sisodiya, Dr Katri Silvennoinen and Dr Meneka Sidhu