North West-based runner Graham Berry is aiming to raise £20,000, for his friend with Motor Neuron Disease (MND), ahead of the Rob Burrow Leeds Marathon in May.
Graham has already raised £18,700 for the charity since 2019 but now has further reasons to help the cause.
Since being diagnosed, Nick Deane has completed the Three Peaks Challenge and raised more than £50,000 for the Motor Neuron Disease Association (MNDA).
This year he has also organised a gala dinner at Shrewsbury Town FC which potentially could take his fundraising to £80,000.
And Graham is now hoping to boost the total in the Leeds Marathon, named after Rugby League player Rob Burrow who died from the disease last year.
Graham said: “Nick was diagnosed about 18 months ago, so I have an added motivation too now. I run because I can, for those who can’t.
“He’s one of the nicest blokes you could ever meet, a true gentleman. Nick had low bulbar MND, so his speech was the first thing to be affected like Rob.”
Graham is hoping to complete the marathon and a 24-hour ultramarathon, around the Brick Community Stadium, home of Wigan Athletic and the Wigan Warriors, this year.
He said: “My target is set at £20,007 to honour Rob’s number 7 jersey and I’m desperate to hit that in May when I will increase my target again.
“I’m a lifelong Wigan Warriors fan and that’s what the Rugby League family does, it huddles around and pulls together”.
Burrow raised nearly £20m for the charity as he battled the disease, with former team-mate and captain Kevin Sinfield raising £1million through running events such as the 230-mile MND run in December.
Graham said: “Kevin is a massive inspiration for me. He ran his first 7 in 7 challenge in January 2020 just after Rob’s diagnosis and he immediately converted me to become an MNDA runner.”
Graham also runs the annual Rugby League Jersey Day campaign for the MND Association. Alongside his friend Chris Walker, from sportswear company Weim Wear, they design and launch a new rugby shirt each year in MND Association colours of blue and orange.
All the profit goes to the charity, and they encourage people to wear these jersey’s on Global MND Awareness Day on June 21.
Graham said: “If I can inspire one more person to run then that’s amazing, job done.
“In recent years I’ve had close friends take up running or existing runners push themselves for newer races like the Rob Burrow Leeds Marathon and run it for the Association.”
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