James to raise funds and awareness for Multiple Sclerosis

Meet James, one of our inspirational runners taking on the Sheffield Mutual Sheffield Half Marathon in April.

A cause very close to his heart, James will be taking on his very first ‘official’ half marathon challenge to raise funds and awareness for Multiple Sclerosis, a condition his fiancée Georgina suffers with.

MS is a lifelong neurological condition that affects the brain and spinal cord, and as a result can often cause difficulties with movement, vision, and sensation. Thankfully, there are some truly amazing treatments available at the moment to help those with MS, allowing them to live normal lives - however, the condition can relapse or progress at any given time, sometimes with very little warning.

For this reason, James has decided that he would like to do his bit and raise funds to help further research not only even better treatment but to one day find a cure. We caught up with James to find out more about his motivations for running.

“Having seen first-hand someone that I love dearly battle MS daily - and succeed in doing so - I know how difficult at times it can be and just how brilliant they are. I will be running the half marathon for them and for others I know who are going through the same.

“It will be my very first Sheffield Half Marathon. We live pretty much on the route so my fiancée and I always walk down to watch the runners every year and cheer our friends on - seeing the efforts of those runners encouraged me to sign up. I have done long runs of a similar distance to the half, but never had the privilege of thousands of punters cheering me to the finish line before.

“Training is going pretty well I think - I did the Round Sheffield Run earlier in January with a few friends which was really good fun. Legs needed a fair bit of rest after that! I usually squeeze a couple of runs in the week after work - I like to run around Bramall Lane and back as it's a nice distance for me, and the views are much better than those in S6!

“I'm looking forward to raising some money for MS Society and wearing their vest loudly and proudly on the day - and hopefully making my fiancée proud. I am also hoping she'll have a pint of lager waiting for me at the finish line, which is enough to keep me going!

“I haven't done an official half marathon before but I’d advise anyone running for the first to simply enjoy the day as much as you can! If I were chasing a PB, I'd be man-marking one of the pacers all the way around!”

Good luck James, we have no doubt that you will smash race day!

You can support James on his fundraising journey by clicking here

The Sheffield Mutual Sheffield Half Marathon is set to take place on Sunday 7^th April. To find out more and sign up click here