Extreme Knitting Redhead: Running Down Dementia

Wednesday, July 20, 2016

Running Down Dementia

This is another fund-raising initiative between the phenomenon that is parkrun and ARUK in which parkrunners were asked to challenge themselves to run or walk 100k (not all at once I hasten to add!) and raise £100 over the summer.

That gave people 5 months to achieve something amazing in their running journey whilst raising funds to power research into dementia.

Runners could choose to do the challenge as individuals or as part of a team. What a great way to encourage people to perhaps run a few extra miles and feel that they are making a difference at the same time!

There is a leaderboard where people can see how they are doing as an individual and they can also help their parkrun group reach the top of the leaderboard in terms of money raised and distance run. A nice bit of healthy competition.

Looking back at the figures for June, Bedford parkrun was in the lead for mileage with more than 550km logged. But things can change so quickly and as of today Bolton parkrun has gone into the lead with an impressive total of 1462.73km. Antrim parkrun was leading the fund-raising table with over £1200 raised but they have been overtaken by Newcastle with a massive £2,025.14.

In the 'Team' category, the ARUK staff team is now in the lead with a very impressive £2,809.84. Great to see them setting an example and supporting the cause.

As we're now about halfway through the challenge I thought it would be interesting to have a look at the latest overall statistics and they are jolly impressive:

3024 runners are taking part, including 115 teams.
Between them they have run 368 parkruns covering 98,245 kilometres.
They have raised £93,001 so far.

Wow! It just goes to show what can be achieved if we all come together.

Keep up the good work all you fabulous parkrunners.

By the way, it's not too late to join in the fun as you can still sign up here as the finish date is 31st October so there's plenty of time left. All the parkruns you run can be used to contribute towards you 100km target which gives you plenty of time to get your friends and family to help you reach the £100 target.

Good luck and thank you for supporting Alzheimer's Research UK - together we will make a difference!

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Mum's Story

In 1997 my mother, then aged 81, had a series of minor strokes. Shortly after that we started to notice behavioural changes notably memory loss and confusion over everyday items. We thought it was just old age finally catching up with her. Then she started wandering and had violent mood swings. Although she already lived with us it became obvious that she couldn't be left alone for long and so I left my job to care for her. The next few years saw a gradual decline into the blackness that is 'vascular dementia'. My normally placid mum became violent and aggressive. She had psychotic incidents where she would see imaginary people (children hiding in her wardrobe, Russians sitting on the stairs, women stealing her clothes) and she would shout at them and sometimes throw things too. She was so convincing that we used to go and check that there wasn't anyone there! When my sister died mum did not know who Judy was or that she was her daughter. There came a point when I suddenly realised she no longer knew that I was her daughter and this was a terrible time for me. In the last 2 years that she lived with us, life for us all became almost unbearable as she needed 24 hour care - she couldn't be left alone at all because she would either wander off or hurt herself, she never slept for more than 30 minutes at a time during the night, she became incontinent and incapable of doing anything for herself. Finally my husband and I realised that we could no longer provide her with the care that she needed and she went to live in a special care home where the team did a splendid job caring for her in the last few months of her life. There she lived a zombified existence unaware of who she was, what she was or where she was. It was heartbreaking. She died in March 2005, the day after her 89th birthday.

Thank you for taking the time to read mum's story and I hope you'll dig deep and sponsor me using the link below to help find a way of beating this destructive disease.