Daniella Jackson
Dani and Hazel’s fundraiser for Motor Neurone Disease Association
Fundraising for Motor Neurone Disease Association
Story
We have decided to run the Rob Burrow Leeds Marathon in May 2024 in support of our good friend Kate and her Dad Paul, who has just been diagnosed with Motor Neurone Disease (MND).
Here is a snippet of Kate’s story:
My incredible, intelligent, resilient dad has very recently been diagnosed with Motor Neurone Disease. It has rocked our little world. My dad has always been the head of our small family: not always much of a cuddler (until recently!), he’s demonstrated his love and affection through doing things for others, whether it be getting up at 4am to take me swimming three times a week throughout my teenage years, picking me (and all my friends) up at ungodly hours for decades, or dropping everything to help me with any house issue I’ve encountered. To be experiencing a physical struggle that means that myself and others have to help him for a change, I know is incredibly difficult for him
When my dad received his diagnosis, it made me feel somewhat helpless. There is currently no cure, and the path ahead for both my dad and for us as a family is intimidating in its uncertainty. Raising awareness of Motor Neurone Disease and raising money to fund research to create an MND free world makes me feel like I am doing something to help.
And a little from Dani and Hazel:
Despite considering ourselves to be pretty fit after ten years of CrossFit (which is where we met each other and Kate), embarking on this marathon journey marks a significant challenge for both of us.
Hazel is a strong runner but has never tackled this distance before, with her longest run for many years being 10km. But Hazel doesn’t do things by halves, so is gearing up to train and push hard for a time she will be happy with!
It’s fair to say Dani is not a strong runner and until recently, avoided it at all costs! The longest she has ever run is 10km, and usually never runs more than 5km… but she loves a challenge so will be training hard to get the marathon done!
We’re both going to find the marathon and training for it super tough, but we really want to support Kate and Paul, and raise as much money for MND as possible. That’s what we will be thinking of as we train through winter, and try to keep our many body niggles in check!
We really appreciate that times are tough financially for everyone, but even if you can give just a little, it would mean the world to us, Kate and her family.
Thank you.