3 generations of an inspirational Isle of Wight family took part in the Royal Parks Half Marathon in London on 9th October, to raise funds and awareness for Parkinson’s research.
73-year-old Annie Dawes and her 35-year-old son Max Dawes, both from Brighstone, ran alongside daughter-in-law Natasha Edwards, 43, from Newchurch and 17-year=old grandson Oskar Tykier from Seaview. They completed the iconic 13.1-mile race to raise funds and awareness for Cure Parkinson’s; a charity close to their hearts as Annie lives with the condition.
Annie has run the race in previous years, but this was her first half marathon following her Parkinson’s diagnosis and she completed the race in under 4 hours – beating her target time!
Annie said of running the event with her family, and living with Parkinson’s:
“I cannot praise my wonderful family’s support more. I would encourage anyone with Parkinson’s, who can get active, to do so as the benefits are immeasurable. A boost to wellbeing.”
Annie ran alongside her grandson, Oskar, for the majority of the race, being joined 2 miles before the finish line by her husband, 3 of her children, her son-in-law and daughter-in-law, and 4 of her grandchildren, singing The Beatles songs along the way to keep morale high.
The close-knit family were filled with emotion running alongside Annie and enjoyed every second of the challenging day. They raised a phenomenal £5,546 for Cure Parkinson’s.
Cure Parkinson’s is hugely grateful to Annie, Max, Natasha and Oskar for running the Royal Parks Half to raise funds and awareness for Parkinson’s research.
Helen Matthews, Deputy CEO, said:
“Fundraising support is absolutely critical for the charity to enable us to achieve our goal. We aim to cure Parkinson’s and the only way we will do this is through the help of all our incredible supporters – it’s as simple as that!”
If you would like to donate to Annie, Max, Natasha and Oskar’s Royal Parks Half Marathon challenge, head to https://www.justgiving.com/team/parkinsonsiow.
