On 3rd March 2013 I will be running the Silverstone half marathon in aid of the National Association for Colitis and Crohn’s Disease (NACC). This charity is very close to my heart as my younger brother was diagnosed with Crohn’s disease when he was 14 years old. Crohn’s disease is difficult to diagnose and unfortunately it was a long process to identify what was causing his severe illness. He has undergone major bowel surgery to help rectify a blockage in his intestine, has to take multiple medications daily to help keep his Crohn’s under control and, unfortunately, in the past 5 years has had relapses which have resulted in more medication and on one occasion having to cut out food completely.

Colitis and Crohn’s are inflammatory bowel diseases which last a lifetime and for which there is no known cure. They can Strike at any age but young people are most at risk. Around 240,000 people across the UK have these conditions. Symptoms include relentless diarrhoea, bleeding, severe pain, exhaustion and, in the case of children, impaired growth. Unsurprisingly, the conditions can have a devastating impact on education, work, social and family life.

Although he is now healthier than he has been in the past several years it is still an ongoing battle and always will be. One of the major problems is that his health will fluctuate up and down for the rest of his life.

One of the memories I have of my brother suffering is when he was in hospital in relentless pain and we couldn’t do anything to make the pain go away. Not only has it affected his life it affects our whole family, since being diagnosed his eating habits have changed, he can’t have certain types of food, he’ll also have good and bad days which has an impact on his daily lifestyle.

Since he has been diagnosed I wanted to help my little brother. I can’t stop the pain or prevent his relapses but I can, however, do something productive to help raise awareness to hopefully find a cure and help people who have recently been diagnosed with Crohn’s or Colitis to understand their disease. This is one way I can help by raising money for the NACC that will be targeted to the areas that will benefit sufferers the most.

NACC is the major UK charity offering support to people affected through help lines, newsletters, information booklets, local community groups and a website. NACC also campaigns for better healthcare and funds vital research.

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.

I have given myself a target of £500, so please donate as little or as much as you can to help me reach my goal and help the NACC improve life for people affected by Colitis and Crohn’s.