I am running the Edinburgh Marathon in May - to raise money for ME.

This is an illness that has had a huge impact on my niece. Initially it was unknown what was happening and it was a slow hard journey to even find a diagnosis.

Then treatment has been another battle!

So little is understood and so much more needs to be done.

So please, if you can, donate as much or as little as you wish, to help the research into this devastating illness.

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”M.E., that’s the one where you are tired isn’t it?!”

But there is so much more to ME and its impact is life changing for the individuals, and their families, who suffer.

However so much still remains unknown about the illness!

Myalgic Encephalomyelitis (M.E.) is a long-term (chronic), fluctuating, neurological disease that causes symptoms affecting many body systems, more commonly the nervous and immune systems.

The main symptoms are:

Intense fatigue and a feeling of being unwell that is not improved by rest, and can be worse after mild or moderate physical or mental effort and can occur hours or days afterwards

Pain in the muscles or joints;

Problems in the stomach or intestine;

Difficulty sleeping; and

Memory or concentration problems (cognitive dysfunction).

The cause of ME is not yet known.

There is no test to diagnose it - other illnesses are ruled out.

There is no cure.

There is no treatment.

ME affects an estimated 250,000 people in the UK.

ME is at least as disabling as multiple sclerosis, rheumatoid arthritis and other chronic conditions and people with ME score lower overall on health-related quality of life tests than most other chronic conditions.

There is hardly any research into ME. As an example research into MS receives 20 times the funding of research into ME even though more people have ME.

ME Research UK exists to fund high-quality biomedical research into ME – to find its cause, to develop effective treatments, and ultimately to discover a cure. They receive no government funding and rely on donations and legacies from members of the public, as well as the fundraising and sponsored events organised by supporters.