On 26th April 2009, I will be running the Flora London Marathon to raise money and awareness for The Muscular Dystrophy Campaign.

This charity supports sufferers and funds research into this condition and other muscle wasting diseases. There is no known cure for Muscular Dystrophy which effects mainly boys. In it's worst and unfortunately more common form, it is severly life limiting with children only living into their 20's. On average, for every 3000 male births Worldwide, 1 will be born with the most severe form called Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy.

If you want to learn more about Muscular Dystrophy and Marathon running read on. I also have a fund raising page on "Just Giving" where, with your help, I can hopefully reach my fund raising target of £1500. If you feel that this is a worthy cause and want to support a fellow Radio Ham, please click on the Just Giving link below. Even a small donation makes a huge difference. If any radio ham sponsors me on my Just Giving page, leave a personal message together with a guess at my finish time for the 26.2 miles. The nearest guess will win $100 of CAT Inteface products of your choice from my website.

 

To register your chance to win $100 worth of XGGCOMMS products, Please Click on the logo above

 

How to win $100 worth of CAT interface products of your choice from this website !!!!

It's simple.. Just click on the Just Giving logo to the left and you will be directed to my sponsorship page. 
If you are kind enough to visit the site and sponsor me, you will be given the opportunity to leave a personal message. In the message, include a guess at my finish time for 2009 and the person with the nearest guess will win up to $100 of products of their choice from my Website. The winner will be contacted a few days after the Marathon on 26th April 2009. 
 

Can I do it????

London 2009 will be my 3rd full marathon and I also have 4 competitive half marathons under my belt.  My London Marathon 2008 finish time was 4 hours, 29 minutes and 59 seconds. To give you a fighting chance, my aim is between 4 hours and 4 hours 15 minutes for 2009 but of course I may run quicker or it could all go really bad......

The feeling of completing a full marathon is amazing and you are on a high for days after. It's just a pity your legs are on a "low" for the next fortnight. The camaraderie with other runners en-route and the tens of thousands of supporters lining the course help pull you around. However, running 26 miles and 385 yards is not to be underestimated and it takes many months of hard training and commitment. I am averaging 30 miles a week in training and in the few months before the big day, the training steps up to 40-50 miles per week.

I started running to raise awareness and money for the Muscular Dystrophy Sufferers when our very good friends son was diagnosed with Duchenne MD which is about as bad as it gets. Sufferers are wheelchair bound and unable to walk in their early teens, by late teens they will have lost use of their upper body and many do not live past their early 20's.
 

The London Marathon Background

On March 29th 1981, the inaugural London Marathon took place proving to be an instant success. More than 20,000 people applied to run: 7,747 were accepted and 6,255 crossed the finish line on Constitution Hill as cheering crowds lined the route. Now at capacity, a total of 46,500 were accepted from a record 80,500 applicants, with 32,563 finishing on the day. Since this time the event has continued to grow in size, stature and popularity with a capacity 46,500 accepted entrants each year. In all, a total of 711,260 have completed the race since its inception with 34,497 runners crossing the line in 2008.

As a fundraising event, there is no marathon in the world that comes close to the Flora London Marathon. One of the dominant images of the race is that of thousands clad in fancy dress, tramping the cobbles in support of charitable causes dressed as rhinos, football team mascots, giant trees and the like.

Since 1981 it is estimated that over £200 million has been raised for charities world-wide with 76% of competitors running for a cause close to their hearts. One third of the total amount of places offered to runners comes from charities who are awarded guaranteed places or Golden Bonds.

 

 

Introduction to Neuromuscular Conditions

There are about 60 different types of muscular dystrophy and related neuromuscular conditions. These conditions are characterised by the loss of muscle strength, as progressive muscle wasting or nerve deterioration occurs. They are mainly inherited, can cause shortened life expectancy and there are currently no cures.

Neuromuscular conditions affect boys, girls, men and women of all ages, occur across all ethnic groups and often more than once in one family.

The cause of most of the conditions we cover is genetic. That is why so much research has already gone into finding which genes are at fault and how they might be repaired. The genetic risks vary.

In some types of neuromuscular condition both the father and mother must have a faulty gene to pass it on. This is called recessive inheritance. In other types, it only needs one parent to pass on a faulty gene. This is called dominant inheritance. In Duchenne muscular dystrophy the mother usually passes the faulty gene on to her son. This is called x-linked inheritance. Progress in research means that once one member of a family is diagnosed it may be possible to test other relatives to detect carriers.

Not all conditions are inherited however. Some conditions are known as being "autoimmune". That means the immune system turns inwards to attack targets within the body rather than fighting off external dangers.

And there can be a new mutation (or change) in the genes that causes types of neuromuscular conditions to appear for no apparent reason.

There is, as yet, no cure, but there are ways of treating the symptoms of some conditions (like myotonia congenita) and there is much that can be done practically to improve life for those affected.