Welcome to my Blog!

July 25, 2019

Welcome to my Blog!

Hello!

My name is Matty and I've created this Blog to try to raise some awareness and support for the neurological condition Multiple Sclerosis - a cruel and debilitating illness that affects over 100,000 people in the UK - men, women and also teens and young children.

How?

My aim is to run 17 different parkrun courses across England, with the first letter of each parkrun event spelling out "MULTIPLE SCLEROSIS"

Why MS?

A close family member of mine was diagnosed with MS in 2005. Seeing the challenges this condition brings and the way it has affected his life and also those around him, over the last 14 years, has inspired this challenge to hopefully raise a few quid for the MS Society charity via my Just Giving fundraising page

Why parkrun?

I've chosen parkrun to 'spell it out' for a few reasons...

I enjoy running and love to attend parkrun, whether I'm putting on my trainers to run the course or am there in a Volunteer role (my favourite Volunteer role being "Cow Marshal"). I've met some wonderful people and fantastic cows on my travels!

I genuinely look forward to it and love to explore new courses as a parkrun tourist around the UK, whenever I can.

My family member with Multiple Sclerosis has volunteered at 102 parkrun events to date, so it's especially fitting that I tie in parkrun and my MS charity challenge.

Why now?

In early 2017 I had a freak trampolining accident. Long after the broken bones and damaged ligaments had healed, I was still left with long-lasting nerve, back and ankle issues. Being forced to spend 2 years away from running came as a shock to me and hit me hard, both physically and mentally. At times I could barely walk and wondered if I'd ever be able to run again - something I found extremely difficult to deal with.

Thankfully I am now running again and I'm very grateful to be regaining strength after my injuries but I am reminded that not everyone is that fortunate. I'm mindful that many would be grateful to walk without struggling, let alone run! So I'd like to run and raise awareness, at the very least, and hopefully also raise some money for those less fortunate than myself through no fault of their own.

The family member with MS has always supported family, friends and the parkrun community as a whole, with over 100 parkrun volunteer credits to his name, yet he has never even run a parkrun himself. As all parkrunners know, without "V"s there are no "R"s - Volunteers make parkrun happen!

Being involved with the parkrun movement is important to me and I'm looking forward to getting stuck in to this multi-event challenge!

How can YOU help?

Please follow my blog and support me on my charity adventure - the more the merrier!

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