Pitstone man runs 12 marathons in 12 months to raise money for Parkinson’s UK

A man from Pitstone has set himself a challenge of running 12 marathons in 12 months to raise money for Parkinson’s UK.

So far, William Lambie, 36, has run ten self-planned marathons and only has two more left until he completes his year of fundraising. He said he wanted to raise funds for Parkinson’s UK as his mother-in-law, Inge Oosthuizen, was diagnosed with the condition four years ago.

William said: “Parkinson’s makes smaller tasks difficult for Inge to complete due to her tremor, but so far she has found medication, exercise, and the support of her family a great help in managing the condition. I hope the money raised will go towards vital research in finding the cure for Parkinson’s, but also aid the research into medicine to help people with Parkinson’s be able to live a normal life for as long as possible."

When William finishes his challenge in December, he will have run a total of 500 miles for Parkinson’s UK around his local area, this total is including his training runs.

William continued: “I am doing this challenge to try and raise as much money for Parkinson’s UK as possible. Running a marathon a month is a huge challenge, both mentally and physically, but the challenges I come across during these runs are only temporary, and are nothing compared to the day to day challenges people with Parkinson’s have to deal with and will have to deal with for the rest of their lives.”

Kirsty Berrigan and Rebecca Landolt, Heads of Regional Fundraising at Parkinson’s UK, said: “We are so grateful to William for taking on this incredible challenge for Parkinson’s UK. With more than 40 potential symptoms, Parkinson’s can devastate lives.

"We’ve made huge breakthroughs in the last 50 years, but there is still no cure and current treatments are not good enough. We hope that William’s fundraising challenge inspires you to get involved with Parkinson’s UK.

"There are lots of ways for you to get involved and support us - from volunteering at an event, to campaigning for better services. Without the generosity of people like you, our work would not be possible."

To sponsor William visit www.justgiving.com/fundraising/william-lambie