A MOTHER’S battle with an auto-immune condition inspired a Cockfield woman to take part in this year’s Great North Run.
Kayleigh Bell completed the course in just over 2.35hrs, raising about £400 for the charity Lupus UK.
The 29-year-old chose the charity after her mother, Carole, was diagnosed with the condition, which occurs when the immune system attacks healthy tissue in the body.
“My mum was diagnosed at 32 and it led to early menopause at 40 and she was quite poorly,” said Ms Bell, a team leader at Cockfield’s Co-op store. I chose to run for Lupus UK because it is not one of the main big charities – there were only 15 of us in the team.
“My mam had made a banner and she was screaming my name as I went past – it really does give you that extra push. My feet were killing me after nine miles. I had a few tears getting to the end of it – you could see she was chuffed to bits to be there.”
Ms Bell said her training for the world’s most famous half marathon had begun well but had been affected by other commitments as the race approached.
Despite this, she managed to shave a couple of minutes off the time she recorded in the Great North Run last year when she tackled the course for the first time.
On that occasion, she ran in support of local youngster Teddy Berriman, who lives with a neuromuscular disorder called spastic quadriplegia, a disabling form of spastic cerebral palsy, which leaves him requiring round-the-clock care. He also suffers from three different types of epilepsy, autism and is partially sighted.
Ms Bell said she was determined to do the Great North Run again in 2020 in what she described as a “landmark year”.
“I will be 30 and it will be the 40th anniversary of the run. The run just gets better year by year. I definitely want to do it again next year,” she said. She said she would probably run in support of the charity Endometriosis UK – another cause close to her heart.
