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Shipping company boss makes huge waves
in charity running challenge
A shipping company executive whose
mother died with dementia was the top fundraiser in a charity running challenge.
Paul Sanders, from Crosby, in Merseyside, raised an incredible ₤3,297 by taking
part in Alzheimer's Research UK's Running Down Dementia initiative, which
challenged people to run 100km between May and the end of October 2017.
The 57 year old was inspired to take on the challenge by his mother Pauline, who
was diagnosed with vascular dementia around 7 years ago and died in September
2017, aged 85.
The father of 2 ran a lot of the distance on and around Crosby beach, including
regularly taking part in the Town's Park Run. He finished the challenge by
competing in the Mersey Tunnel 10K. He also had to battle through a knee injury
picked up while playing football. Paul's younger sister Kathy Charnley
also completed the challenge, while his youngest daughter Anna, 15, and niece
and nephew, Sarah, 15, and John Cooper, 18, ran some of the distance to support
him.
Paul, the UK general manager for Independent
Container Line, said:- "I'm not a runner, I play veterans football, but
when I found out about the challenge I thought it would be a great thing to do.
I was worried I'd be too busy to do it, but I found out that the Park Run was at
9am on Saturdays and it fitted perfectly, as I always visited my mum at about
10.30am on Saturdays, so I had time to do the run before seeing her. I thought I
could maybe raise about ₤500, so I'm absolutely delighted to have raised more
than ₤3,000. As well as my family and friends, quite a few of my customers and
suppliers made donations and right at the end my company, whose headquarters are
in America, donated a thousand dollars. I was delighted my knee just about held
up during the challenge, although I've not been able to run since the Tunnel
Run, as I need an operation to clean up the cartilage. When I've recovered I'd
like to carry on running as it's been really good for my fitness."
Paul said the first few years following his mum's diagnosis were the toughest,
but said things became a bit more peaceful once she went into a care home. He
said:- "It started off with her being a bit forgetful and she'd repeat
herself quite often. As it progressed more, she'd go out of the house and get
lost. She'd often wander to Church, going different days of the week, different
times of the day. She'd go to the shop and try to buy things without having any
money. She'd ring me in the evening and then 10 minutes later I'd get another
call. Once she went into the home, there was an element of peace. As she
progressed into a worse state it was almost easier to accept. It sounds strange,
but I could accept she had a real illness, while in the early days you think you
can cure her with a bit of tough love and snap her out of it, but of course
that's impossible. In the early days she was scared and worried about things she
was imagining. But as she got deeper into the dementia those types of feelings
and fears disappeared, and she was at ease with herself. She had a beautiful
voice. Her favourite singer was Deanna Durbin, who was her heroine, and when she
sang, her voice was almost identical. Even until the last 12 months we would
take her to the beach to sit and look at the sea, I'd play a song on the iPod
and she'd sing along. We'd 'challenge' her with obscure Frank Sinatra and Vic
Damone tunes, and she'd pick them up immediately. But eventually even that was
taken from her, which was particularly sad."
Overall 4,062 runners signed up for Running
Down Dementia this year, raising ₤247,000. They ran 367,178km; nearly the
distance to the Moon and more than nine times around the Earth.
Kenneth Foreman, Senior Sporting Events Manager at Alzheimer's Research UK,
said:- "We can't thank Paul enough for raising such an incredible total
while taking part in Running Down Dementia. We're also delighted that Paul
became a park runner while taking on the challenge as Alzheimer's Research UK is
proud to be the official charity partner of Park Run. The vital funds raised by
Paul and the thousands of runners who have taken part in Running Down Dementia
will power world class dementia research projects and help bring an end to the
fear, harm and heartbreak of dementia."
Anyone interested in taking part in next year's Running Down Dementia challenge
can pre-register
online. Also, Alzheimer's Research UK have
launched a new cycling initiative called Cycling Down Dementia challenging
people to ride, either 300 or 1,000 miles, before the end of January and raise
₤150. To sign up go to:-
CyclingDownDementia.Org. For further
information about Alzheimer's Research UK, or to find out more about fundraising
for the charity, call:- 0300 111 5555 or visit:-
AlzheimersResearchUK.Org.
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