Mike's Marathon fundraiser
28 Mar 2014
Spurred on by the desire to raise cash for research into finding a cure for Inflammatory Bowel Disease - the collective name for Crohn’s Disease and Ulcerative Colitis - Humanities Media Relations Officer Mike Addelman is running the Greater Manchester Marathon on 6 April.
So in the space of 18 months he's made the unlikely transition from couch potato to running junky. It's only 26.2 miles, an equivalent distance from Manchester to, er, Huddersfield. When Mike did the 10k last year, everyone was so generous and he raised a massive £1,405 for the fantastic charity Crohn’s and Colitis UK.
Crohn’s Disease and Ulcerative Colitis are debilitating illnesses which affect more people than Parkinson’s, but are far less well known. MUFC footballer Darren Fletcher, TV presenter Carrie Grant, and comedian Stewart Lee all have IBD, as does Mike's 11-year-old son, Jake, who was diagnosed at three. Jake has been in and out of hospital for most of his life, takes ten pills every day and has an intravenous infusion every two months.
But even though his IBD is nowadays well controlled, he still has times when the symptoms are bad, enduring much pain and distress. But Jake won’t be beaten by the disease and manages to live life to the full. CCUK works tirelessly to improve the lives of IBD sufferers like Jake. Scientists are making great strides in finding ways to treat IBD, but there’s such a long way to go, so CCUK’s funding of essential research is hugely important.
If you'd like to support Mike's run, you can donate at: