We’ve got an entry in one of the earliest half marathons to be held in the UK this year – the Brighton Half Marathon, which will be run in a fortnight’s time on Sunday, 26th February.
Environmental health officer Liam Naughton will be running along the Brighton seafront to raise money for The ME Association. He's raising money for medical research into this desperately neglected illness.
“Medical research is expensive and it can be a long and slow process, but we believe it offers the best hope for effective treatments or even a cure”, the 28-year-old wrote on his fundraising page.
“That’s why we’re asking for your help. We want to do more to exploit the better understanding we now have about M.E. and then build on any discoveries to help change lives for the better.”
Liam’s partner, Andrew White, has had M.E. for some years and is a member of The ME Association. They live in Brighton and Liam works for the Lewes and Eastbourne Councils partnership. Andrew has had to take long-term sick leave because he's too ill to work.
Liam, who has no huge experience of competitive running, has been building up speed and endurance in preparation for the race, using his Strava tracking device. He watched the Brighton Half for the first time last year when the weather was cold but dry and sunny – and that’s when he thought he would give it a try!
“It looked OK and the sun was shining. That’s when I got the idea to enter, and I hope we get the same decent weather this year”, he told us.
They've have been lucky enough to get in some early sunshine this year. Last month, while we shivered, they went on holiday to the volcanic islands of Tenerife where you can see them pictured while on a visit to a natural rock pool.
Liam rams home the message about the vital need to ramp up biomedical research on his online fundraising page: “While some progress is being made, we do need to do more, MUCH MORE, if we are to understand this cruel illness.”
Please put some more money into our Ramsay Research Fund by donating to Liam’s JustGiving page – button below.
Good luck on the 26th, Liam! And thanks for backing the need for more biomed research.
Tony Britton
Senior Fundraising Consultant, The ME Association
tony.britton@meassociation.org.uk Mob: 07393 805566
