Josh and I are taking part in the Thames Trail Ultra. We’re running 47miles from Oxford to Henley next month! 

We’re running to raise money for The Motor Neurone Disease (MND) Association. Why you may ask…?

Paul Southey, our stepdad, was diagnosed with MND back in 2021. He was first concerned when his muscles would constantly ripple/spasm. After taking a year to come to a diagnosis, he was told he had MND.

MND is a rare condition that causes motor neurones in the persons muscles to stop working. Overtime the muscle degenerate and die. This happens all over the persons body and in Paul’s case it started with his legs and shoulders. This has meant that now he spends most of his time in a wheelchair. Overtime this will get worse and all muscles in his body will disappear, whilst his mind stays healthy and active. For these reasons, doctors say it’s one of the worst diseases to have. It’s currently incurable. 

MND has had a lot of coverage and awareness recently with legends fighting the disease, like Rob Burrow and Doddie Wier 

Neither Josh nor I have ever ran anything further than 20km so training has been a real struggle. This has been a real physical challenge as well as a mental one, with monotonous hours spent pounding the tarmac with TMS and Harry Potter audio books to keep us going.  

We’ve selected the Thames Trail Ultra as it’s a distance that is well beyond anything we’ve ran before. Our bodies will want to stop but our minds will have to carry us through. 

The charity we are raising money for is the MND Association. We selected this charity as it is focused on finding a cure and supporting the patients and families suffering from MND. From the specialised equipment such as wheelchairs and beds to mental health support and therapy, the MND Association caters and supports every patient and their family in so many ways. 

It would really mean the world to both of us, Paul and our family to hit our target of £5000, and more importantly you’ll be making an important contribution to tackling a deadly disease. So please dig deep ladies and gentlemen and wish us luck. We’re going to need it!