My Story

My name is Richard Avery and I am running The Big Half in London on Sunday 4th September 2022. I am running to raise money for Alzheimer's Society, a cause that is close to my heart.

My granma, June Avery, was a very intelligent and active person, in fact she was head girl and captain of games at school. She was a teacher and was still trying to educate her students and play badminton when her illness struck at the age of 52, forcing early retirement.

She had Alzheimer's for over 20 years, and, even going back to my earliest memories of her, I never remember hearing her speak. As a family we would visit her regularly in the nursing home for many years and, due to the severity of her condition, she was unable to communicate with us. My fondest memory of her was greeting her with a kiss on the cheek and seeing a big smile light up her face.

My granpa, Ted Avery, was by her side every day until the end. Sadly, years after losing my granma, he suffered from dementia in his final years, but at least I got to spend over 30 quality years with him.

Every three minutes, somebody in the UK is told they have dementia. But dementia won’t win. Alzheimer’s Society is doing everything they can to find a cure, but they need our help. I would be very grateful for anything you can give to support such a great cause and hopefully one day a cure can be found, so others don't have to go through such difficult times.