Thanks for taking the time to visit my JustGiving page.

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.

X-linked lymphoproliferative syndrome (XLP), which is also known as Duncan’s syndrome, is a rare always fatal disease that affects only boys. To date only about 100 families and 400+ boys have been diagnosed worldwide. It is likely, however, that there are many more cases where the correct diagnosis has not been made.  70% of individuals with XLP die by the age of 10 years without any treatment. The cause of the condition was only found in 1998 so there is still a lot to learn.The best ‘prevention’ is regular top ups of anti-viral medicines, immunoglobulin therapy or steroids – but these are not a cure. Today the only possible cure is a bone marrow transplant – in effect replacing the faulty immune system. However with advances in genetics a potential cure may now only be a few years away.

I took part in last year's race and managed a time of 1hr30mins40secs and raised £270 for the charity. This year I would like to beat both my time (last year was a slightly shorter cycle course due to roadworks) and my sponsorship. Even if your only reason to donate is to know that i will be suffering for nearly one and half hours, that's fine by me and the the guys at the xlp research trust.

Thanks again

Gary