Charity Calls for Runners

Fancy going for a run? Possibly to save thousands of lives in the UK? Well the Great North Run will be in full swing around the middle of September. Thousands of men and women will be fighting for Meningitis UK in order to help fight the disease.

 Chelsea striker Daniel Sturridge has inspired people to participate in the 13.1 mile run after recently suffering from viral meningitis.



 Daniel Sturridge recently succumbed to viral meningitis, which has once again united the footballing world. Fortunately, viral meningitis is not as deadly as its sister pathogen - bacterial meningitis - so is a lot easier to treat. However, with recent cases of Aston Villa captain Stilyian Petrov, acquiring leukaemia and Fabrice Muamba & Piermario Morisini both having cardiac arrests on the pitch, more and more support is given to any illness.

 With that in mind, 16th of September sees 54,000 runners in Newcastle & Gateshead run for UK charity Meningitis UK. They have given themselves the motto 'All 4 one, and one 4 all', highlighting the fact that Meningitis can kill it's unfortunate victim within 4 hours. Hence why the name of the campaign has also been named 'Search 4 a vaccine'. They aim to gain £7 million through donations towards the runners in what looks to be a very large race.

 However, with 10 days still to go for the closing of entries into the run, will more football fans want to participate to know they're helping towards a player who has sustained this injury? Despite being a major killer of children under 5, Meningitis is more of a 'forgotten' disease until someone you know or admire has picked it up. 

 Meningitis, if severe, can be very deadly, and kill within hours. Six families every week have to face the difficulty of losing a loved one to meningitis, which is roughly 312 families every year. It is known to be the largest killing disease within the under 5 range, and Meningitis UK aim to get rid of all forms of the virus.

 Emma King, events fundraiser at Meningitis UK, said " Meningitis UK has a single focus - to find a vaccine to wipe out all forms of meningitis. Tragically, meningitis and meningoccal septicaemia continue to affect thousands of people in the UK every year and kill more children under five than any other infectious disease.

 " Our search 4 a Vaccine campaign aims to raise £7 million to help fund cutting-edge research to help us achieve this goal and save thousands of lives in the future."