I have a good friend, Alletta, who is currently studying [and getting yet another degree] in London. We grew up together and attend the same schools until college. She has, for nearly as long as I have known her, suffered from migraines and gone through many rounds of possible causes and treatments. I want to share with you some of her story:
Last May, I ran my first marathon in Edinburgh and despite being ill most of the winter and poorly trained, managed to finish on my own two legs with a respectable time of five hours and forty-eight minutes. This year on May 11th I am giving it another go, except this time I am taking on a much more difficult race on the Isle of Wight and aim to shave more than an hour off of my time to finish in four and a half hours instead.
Running a marathon last year was a life-changing experience. Though becoming increasingly active in recent years, I never considered myself to be athletic. Suffering from asthma and frequent migraines, I have often found strenuous exercise to be very challenging. A few years ago I would have never thought it possible that I could run at all, let alone run 26.3 miles. Now I have been awakened to the possibility of pushing myself in totally new ways and deeply inspired as to what we are all capable of.
I am using my running of the Isle of Wight marathon this year as an opportunity to not only challenge myself, but as a chance to contribute something good to the world by supporting a charity that is close to my heart, the London Migraine Clinic.
The London Migraine Clinic, where I myself am a patient, is a world-class non-profit institution that seeks to help individuals suffering from migraines to find the root causes for their pain and to help them better manage these triggers. In addition, it supports important research into why migraines happen and how the millions of us who get these debilitating headaches can better take control over our health and our lives. To learn more about the Clinic’s work click here.
I think Alletta’s experience is inspirational and honorable. It has been wonderful seeing her come to take on and achieve such high goals for herself. There is no surprise to me that she has found a way to give back to the nonprofit clinic that has helped her with migraines and is helping so many others in London and around the world with their care and research.
Please support me this year in my quest to run the Isle of Wight Marathon and help the London Migraine Clinic in its work by making a donation! Just go to the following link: http://www.colmc.org.uk/ and click on the left-hand tab of “How We are Funded” then on “Donate Now.
There is no where to leave comments when you donate, so please share with me if you would like to about your support or questions so I can be sure to connect you with answers and with Alletta. Thanks, and keep up the race (be it a marathon or life, you are all so inspirational to me!)!