This year, me and John have set ourselves 2 running challengers. John was lucky enough to get the Barnsley Harriers club place to
run the London Marathon. His first ever marathon! I will also be setting myself
the challenge of running my first ever ultra, by running the Dukeries 30

We thought we would use this opportunity to both raise awareness and a bit of money for the Polycystic Kidney Disease (PKD)charity

PKD is a genetic kidney disorder that causes cysts to grow in the kidneys. It causes high blood pressure, which damages the kidneys and
ultimately leads to kidney failure. It is often not diagnosed until later on in life and only once it has already caused irreversible damage and the need for life long dialysis.

We had never heard of this condition until my cousin Liza was found to have it. She had been having headaches and had high blood pressure.  A simple blood test later showed that her kidneys were struggling. 

Treatment options are very limited and PKD remains a life limiting condition for those affected by it.

Sadly for the majority of people affected by PKD, they will ultimately need to have dialysis and join the very long transplant list for a donor kidney.

So, not only are we running to raise money and awareness, we are also going through the rigorous process of screening to see if we are suitable to be living donors for Liza.

The process is quite complex with many steps. We’ve used the X-factor analogy for each of the steps. We both sailed through live auditions, made it through boot camp, and now we are at the 6 chair challenge!! Currently John is in the chair, as he has been seen as the (slightly) better match! His kidneys are obviously well ‘preserved’😉

If everything continues to go as planned, one of us could potentially have the opportunity to make a real difference to Liza and her future quality of life.

So please, if you can, support us in our running quest, because one of us, after completing our challenge may be having a little break from running, but for all the right reasons🏃‍♀️🏃🏻‍♂️