A Dazzle of Leaping Zebras

Thursday 29th February 2024 marks Rare Disease Day and we would like to mark the occasion by raising funds for three organisations.

Alex Wallace was diagnosed with two rare bone marrow conditions (Aplastic Anaemia & PNH) in January 2023.

In medicine, the term “zebra” is used in reference to a rare disease or condition. This made her family and friends smile because to say that she was obsessed with the animal when she was younger would be an understatement… Anyway, we digress…

As a group of friends, we would like to raise awareness and funds for the two charities that have supported Alex as she learns to navigate the complexities of living with a rare condition. Already, she has benefited from the welfare support from the fantastic teams. Alex would love for more funding to go towards research in the hope that when others hear their diagnosis in the future, they might feel less isolated with the complexities of the condition.

Furthermore, as the Founder of the Mintridge Foundation, Alex is keen to showcase how sport has helped her through this difficult year and in turn, we hope, help others to realise the transformative power that it can have for all. The Trustees, Staff & Ambassadors at the Foundation have given Alex the upmost support this year and this is a little way for Alex to give back...

29th February will mark a leap year and so here lies our plan...

Dressed as zebras (for the reasons mentioned above), our team (or dazzle to use the correct collective term for zebras) will run 13.1 miles:

START LINE (09:30) - The Montagu Arms, Barnwell (A significant place of interest for anyone that knows Alex's family...). It is here that Alex has found a friendly face and a little normality spending time with her family here through a turbulent 2023.

From the Monty, the Dazzle will run through Polebrook before a Welcoming Committee will be at Rectory Farm Kitchen (at approximately 10:45). Again, here is an important stop off as Alex and her husband have used this wonderful place as a stop off on her journeys home from hospital. The carrot cake has given Pete and Alex the lift that they so often needed on these journeys...

There is no rest for the wicked though as the Dazzle will then make their way to Elton Furze Golf Club (at approximately 11:30) (where Alex has rediscovered her love for the sport after reading about Jess Ratcliffe, a fellow PNH sufferer who took up golf following diagnosis).

From Elton Furze, the final 2.6 miles of the Half Marathon will take the group to the Marriott Hotel on the outskirts of Peterborough (arriving at approximately 12:00).

Team members will either run the entire route or simply a leg of the relay.

We had to do something a little different to mark the leap year though didn't we? Upon the completion of the Half Marathon (13.1 miles), 1.6 miles will be completed by leapfrogging to Ferry Meadows Café because...well, why not?

Why Ferry Meadows? The Ferry Meadows Park Run helped Alex re-emerge from a rather confuzzling few months of hospital appointments & diagnosis. Here, she redefined what running now meant for her, and while her symptoms might not allow her to push for the front runners at the moment, it has given her time and space and in the words of Jackie Scully, "to run her own race".

We hope to be at the Ferry Meadows Café at approximately 13:30 (depending on the speed of our Leaping Zebras) and we will take on the Park Run route at 14:00.

Thank you for taking the time to read our page & we hope that you are able to support in anyway that you can.

Lots of Love, These Dazzling Zebras supporting the one in a million PNH patients across the UK xx

The Aplastic Anaemia Trust - A charity that brings failed bone marrow back to life! The Aplastic Anaemia Trust is the only charity in the UK focused on aplastic anaemia. We fund research to improve treatment, provide expert information, and work tirelessly, at grassroots level, to support every aplastic anaemia patient and their loved ones.

PNH Support - A charity that provides support through educational resources and advocacy, as well as peer-to-peer contact so that no PNH patient in England, Wales and Northern Ireland is alone. All are represented and enabled to live to their full potential with PNH.

The Mintridge Foundation - A registered charity that wants every young person to have a positive relationship with sport achieved by harnessing the unique platform of sporting role models far beyond their medals.