Dementia Forward - Great North Run for Alan - #GNRforAlan

POST-RACE UPDATE -

The Dementia Forward Running Team all completed the Great North Run! We all battled through the rain and wind to complete the 13.1 mile course. A huge thank you to all of those who have sponsored us already. If you haven't sponsored us yet then there's still time and there's no time like the present! Please click the donate button and give what you can. Every donation, big or small, makes a great difference to the lives of those people who are living with dementia - whether they have it themselves, or are caring for someone who has dementia. Thank you very much from us all.

Alison, David, Matt, James and Bernadette.

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Our story ...

We'd love you to sponsor our Dementia Forward running team, but first we'd like to share why this amazing charity means so much to our family.

Our Dad, Alan Christie, was an incredibly keen runner. After cycling in his spare time for most of his life, he took up running at the age of 48. Between 1987 and 2004 he completed 14 marathons and 112 half marathons.

Our lives changed in August 2006 when Dad was diagnosed with early onset Alzheimer's. As simple tasks started to become increasingly difficult for Dad, he was provided with a befriender who could take him out and about.

With the help and support of carers, Dad was able to continue running for a long time after he was diagnosed, earning the nickname Marathon Man from those who knew him at the charity. When he could no longer run, his befrienders took him out walking to give our Mum a much needed break once a week so she could get other things done.

The disease gradually took things from Dad. First he struggled to remember things. Next he struggled to form sentences. Eventually he lost the ability to speak altogether. Last summer he entered the final stages of Alzheimer's.

Sadly, our Dad, Alan Christie, died on 9 September 2012

At Dad's funeral we asked for donations instead of flowers: we explained that we wanted to give the money collected to Dementia Forward. After chatting to Dementia Forward about a fitting way to use the donations, we agreed to reinvest the funds into buying Great North Run places in aid of the charity.

It's a fitting tribute for our dad. It's also a great way for us to raise more money for, and awareness of, Dementia Forward. There are currently five runners in our team running the Great North Run for the charity.

Three runners are members of Alan's family: Dave Christie (Alan's son); Alison Reilly (nee Christie, Alan's daughter); Matt Reilly (Alison's husband, Alan's son-in-law).

And our other two runners are big supporters of Dementia Forward's work: James Rycroft, Managing Director of Vida Healthcare; Bernadette Mossman, Healthcare Director of Vida Healthcare

So the five of us are going to do our bit by running 13.1 miles across Tyneside and we'd love you to sponsor us!

Any donation you can offer will be hugely appreciated and used wisely to provide practical support to families who are today going through similar issues that our family has already gone through.

And if you already have your own Great North Run place, but aren't yet running for a charity, please consider joining our Dementia Forward team. The charity relies on fundraising and donations, but the work they do is priceless.

Thanks for reading our story.

Dave and Alison

p.s. If you have any queries about Dementia Forward, donating money, or fundraising, please call Netty on 01765 645904 or email netty@dementiaforward.org.uk

p.p.s. We'll keep you updated on our progress on Facebook and Twitter. Our Twitter hashtag will be #GNRforAlan