Calling all cheerers! The Virgin London Marathon takes place on Sunday 28 April and we are incredibly lucky to have a team of five running for the Rare Dementia Support Fund. Our cheer point will be at mile 25 just outside of Embankment Station and we would love to see you there to join our cheer team and help spur our runners on! The atmosphere on the day is truly special – email us and we'll make sure we have plenty of clappers and flags with us! The team
Our team all have very personal reasons for running. Harry Wigan lost his beloved grandmother to frontotemporal dementia and has already raised an incredible £8,660 in her memory. Kathy McClintock is taking part as her mother was diagnosed with frontotemporal dementia in 2016. In addition to Kathy's fundraising, she is going to receive match funding from her employer so any donations made are worth double! Hannah Wolverson and Alexandra Vipers are running the marathon together, Hannah sadly lost her father to frontotemporal dementia earlier this year and her best friend Alex will be running alongside her. Joe Costello-Bromwich's mother received a diagnosis of posterior cortical atrophy at age 55 and Joe is determined to raise awareness of earlier onset dementia. We can't thank the team enough for their dedicated training and taking on such a great challenge. "It wasn’t easy seeing a woman you love and admire become someone you don’t recognise, nor she recognise you. As a family we have raised money for this fantastic charity before in her memory and to do so again with this big challenge is a real honour”
Harry Wigan
Inspiring supporters Claire Powell and her friend Elena both have dads affected by frontotemporal dementia. They have gathered a group of friends and family and will all be running the Blenheim Palace 7k on 28 April to raise funds for FTD research. Best of luck to the team!
To support his mother-in-law Sue, who has primary progressive aphasia, Wayne Anderson has put together a crack team of 26 colleagues from FGS Swindon Cooper Tires to take part in a 15k Rough Runner in Oxfordshire on 18 May. We are hugely grateful to have such a large and enthusiastic team to raise awareness and lend us their support. Go, Team Cooper! Mark Bentley has fundraised tirelessly for RDS in the past few years after his wife Marie was diagnosed with
progressive semantic dementia. Now he's taken on another year's worth of running challenges including the Vitality London 10k in May and the Cork City Marathon in June. Between 1-4 June Ellen Franklin and her partner, Jack Burgess, are hiking the Inca Trail to Macchu Picchu. As one of the world's most scenic challenges, we can't wait to share all the photos of their ascent! “We have seen first hand the incredible work that RDS does to help so many people In the UK. What better way
to raise money for an incredible charity then undergoing a four-day hike to Machu Picchu!”
Ellen Franklin
Our Dementia ChoirSave the date! At 8pm on 2 May 2019 the first part of the documentary Our Dementia Choir will be shown on BBC One. Rare Dementia Support lead Prof Sebastian Crutch is a programme advisor and on-screen expert alongside Created Out of Mind team members Paul Camic, Emily Brotherhood and Emma Harding. Line Of Duty actress Vicky McClure is presenting and the show is generating a huge amount of press and audience interest – we can't wait to see it!
Dementia Action WeekThis week unites individuals, workplaces and the wider community to take action and improve the lives of people living with dementia. Between 20-26 May, we'll be announcing lots of different ways that you can get involved. Look out for these on our social media channels! If you're not already, do follow us on Twitter @raredementia and Facebook @RareDementiaSupport.
For more events, personal stories and how you can get involved, please visit
www.nationalbrainappeal.org or follow us @raredementia and on Facebook at fb/RareDementiaSupport
Theresa, Marcelle, Eva, Cara, Brooke, Alexis, Jane, Tina, Shaun, Abbie and Julia
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