Hi all

Another year, another Great North Run....in fact our 18th consecutive year that Louise & I will be making our pilgrimage to the North East on Sunday 9th September to take part with another 55+K runners pounding the streets of Newcastle all the way to the sea front in South Shields.

That means its our 18th time for asking for your generosity in donating whatever you can spare to our chosen charity which this year is Parkinsons UK. This time it will be in the memory of Louise's dad Brian, who sadly lost his brave battle against this cruel disease early this year.

The number of people diagnosed with Parkinson's in the UK is about 145,000. That's around 1 adult in every 350. Most people diagnosed are 50+ but it can affect younger people too. An ex colleague of Louise’s was diagnosed when he was 8 years old. Parkinson's is a progressive neurological condition. It causes problems in the brain and gets worse over time. People with Parkinson's don't have enough of the chemical dopamine because some of the nerve cells that make it have died.*

Symptoms vary greatly from person to person, so it might not be a slight tremor, short shuffling steps, painful rigidity or a lack of movement you notice first. It affects the facial muscles so it could be a loss of facial expressions, language, difficulty when swallowing food, sleeping problems, nightmares, anxiety or depression.* Throughout the 8 years since his diagnosis, Brian suffered from all of these symptoms.

There are lots of different treatments, therapies and support available to help manage the condition. Parkinson’s UK is working hard to develop new and better treatments - and one day a cure.

We would be most grateful if you could help us help this great charity continue it's work and it's continuing support to all sufferers of this dreadful disease and their families.

Our Virgin Money Charity Page

All we need to do now is get on with some very last minute training, especially Louise and hope our current injuries don't trouble us too much on the day.

Thank you so much for taking the time to read this and for your donation.

Regards

Sean & Louise

P.S. If you can only support one good cause then Dave Harney's Run to Pegasus would be the one to go for. Great cause and a tough challenge. Respect!


I always like to include this link

* Parkinson’s UK website