I’m running the Royal Parks half for Alzheimer’s Research for the third time. This year’s run is particularly poignant.

My Dad was diagnosed with primary progressive aphasia,, a form of dementia, 9 years ago. He was 56 years old. In December, in the midst of the pandemic, he was taken into hospital, and has been there ever since. By the time he was able to have visitors again, three months later, he had lost the thread that kept us with him; he no longer appears to recognise us.

So, this year feels like the year we lost Dad. Going into the hospital pulled out the plug, and he drained away.  

Dementia research is chronically underfunded. For now, it is a disease that offers no hope of a cure, or even an effective treatment. I want that to change. So I’ve been plodding the canals of East London, and on 10th October I’ll run the half with my cousins and my uncle, to raise funds for that research, and in memory of my brother Chris, who would be running alongside us if he was alive.

Thank you for your support - it really does make the world of difference for this reluctant runner, and every penny counts.