Sam Reiling's Great North Run

Hi everyone,

My name is Sam Reiling and I am 32 years old from Washington, Tyne & Wear.

I just wanted to tell a small story to you all as to why I am running the AJ Bell Great North Run this year and give a bit of background on the reasoning for this fundraising page, It may pull at the heartstrings slightly but that is part of the reason why I am so proud to be doing this and raising money for these two fantastic Charity's.

Crohn's & Colitis UK

I have a little brother called Alex who is 29 years old and is without doubt my inspiration and best friend, Alex was born with Cerebral Palsy and has had quite a gruelling time of it from day 1, he has had numerous operations and issues arising from this but has never faltered or complained but learned to adapt and live with this disability and as he has grown has lived a fairly normal life barring a few limitations.

A few years ago though on top of the Cerebral Palsy , Alex was diagnosed with Crohn's disease when he took ill very suddenly, he spent numerous days and nights in hospital hooked up to drips and different medication to try and ease the symptoms, he eventually began to improve but will forever need medication and regular check ups.

Alex still suffers at times with this disease and its debilitating nature but as I previous stated, he gets on with it and never complains so now it is time for me to repay a little bit of that and raise some money for a Charity that is very close to mine and my families heart.

Stroke Association UK

A few years ago now my Grandad Jimmy suffered a near fatal stroke out of the blue, we weren't sure if he was going to make it through but he did, albeit with a lot of the damage done.

To see him go from the man he was before to the man he was after was heart-breaking for the whole family and again, to raise some money for a great Charity associated to this would be fantastic.

To summarise, to push myself and my body to the test to raise money for these two amazing charities, knowing that I am possibly making a difference and helping somebody else would make the whole thing and all the hard work worth while.

Thank you so much for your time and I look forward to sharing with you all the results at the end.

Take care, see you at the finish line.

SR

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