Royal Parks Half Marathon - GOSH

ncpierce

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On Sunday 9th October, I will be running the Royal Parks Half Marathon in support of Great Ormond Street Hospital Children's Charity. This is a huge undertaking for me, and in fact prior to training for this, I had never owned a pair of running shoes in my life.

My reason for taking on such a huge challenge is two-fold. Running has become something of an addiction for me, despite coming in last place the only other time I have ever run competitively (granted it was the final year of primary school but it has stayed with me!). More than this though, I am passionate about my cause, to raise much needed funds to contribute to the work of the Mitochondrial Disease Research Team at Great Ormond Street Hospital.

In 2012, close family friends of ours learned that their youngest child, aged just 11 months when she first became unwell, had inherited a rare and incurable disease. Having previously appeared totally healthy, Anna Lewis began to suffer uncontrollable seizures. Her organs began to fail and just 14 weeks after becoming unwell, Anna tragically succumbed to Alpers Syndrome, a particularly rare form of Mitochondrial Disease. She was days shy of reaching 14 months old.

In the 4 years since her tragic death, Anna's parents and her older sister Holly have been fundraising tirelessly for the Mitochondrial Disease Research Team at Great Ormond Street Hospital where Anna was treated and where her family were so very well looked after during the darkest time in their lives.

As a father to three children who thankfully all appear to be healthy, I cannot imagine the desperation that a parent must feel in the face of news such as our friends received. That's why I feel compelled to raise funds for such an important cause. So that those who must face such news can continue to be supported by this incredible charity, and so that one day, with well funded research, the prognosis for these patients and their families can hopefully be more positive.

On my own behalf, on behalf of the Lewis family and on behalf of Great Ormond Street Hospital Children's Charity, thank you so much in advance for any donation that you are able to make to my justgiving page. Your money can and will make a difference.

https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/NigelRoyalParks

Thank you!

Nigel
 


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