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Joe’s Fundraising Story

Joe ran the Liverpool Half Marathon to raise funds and awareness for Dravet Syndrome UK.

We asked Joe to share more about why he challenged himself to run 13.1 miles.

“My mum’s best friend is Alison, who is mum to Will, aged 16, who lives with Dravet Syndrome. They’re our close family friends and I’ve grown up alongside Will. We have some idea of how challenging things can be for him and his family on a daily basis. I’ve always wanted to raise money for Dravet Syndrome UK as I know how much the charity has supported him and his family in the past.

Last year, I started running after never having ran in my life before. I wanted to lose weight and, so that I’d have something to aim for, I decided to set myself a challenge. I booked onto the local Liverpool Half Marathon. I knew that raising money for a charity so close to my heart would help to spur me on and get me to the finish line.

Training has been challenging and I’ve certainly succeeded in losing weight. I’ve been working long hours and getting home, going for a training run before having my dinner and repeating the next day!

I was poorly the week before the race, so I was doubly nervous being faced with the 13.1 miles on race day. Also, Liverpool Football Club (LFC) were playing Tottenham Hotspurs that afternoon – I very rarely miss a Liverpool match, but this race meant a lot to me – I was just hoping to be finished in time to catch up with the score!

It was fantastic! My family and friends were supporting me, cheering from the sidelines, and I completed the half marathon in a time of 1 hour 59 minutes, which I’m really pleased with. Thinking of Will while I was running definitely spurred me on to the finish. He is such an inspiration to me.

I wanted to thank my friends and family who have been so generous in sponsoring me through my JustGiving page. Also, as I help with setting up the flags at LFC, pre-match, for each home fixture, I was really overjoyed to receive a brilliant donation from the club, so wanted to say a big thank you to them too.

I’ve raised a huge £7,868, smashing my target of £5,000! I’m over the moon!

If you’re thinking of raising funds for Dravet Syndrome UK, I’d say get out of your comfort zone and challenge yourself to something you wouldn’t usually do. You’ll feel great and the families your fundraising helps to support will be massively grateful.”

We want to say a huge THANK YOU to Joseph for running the Liverpool Half Marathon and raising nearly £8,000 for Dravet Syndrome UK. What an amazing thing to do inspired by a friend!

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