Select a region
An islander who “couldn’t run for five minutes” will be taking part in the London Marathon to raise funds for Parkinson’s UK in memory of her grandmother.
Danielle De Kock said the “knew little” about the degenerative brain disorder when her grandmother, Rita was diagnosed in 2012.
“I saw my grandmother lose the ability to walk, talk and even eat. She was under full time care and had become a shadow of herself. It was awful to see such a strong, caring lady suffer through such a horrid disease,” said Miss De Kock.
Pictured: Danielle De Kock has been training for the London Marathon since April and now runs an average of 40km per week.
Miss De Kock continued: “Due to being diagnosed late in life, my grandmother deteriorated quickly and, unfortunately, passed away in March 2020 after an eight-year battle. This doesn’t have to be the case for everyone; if diagnosed early, many people go on to live long, healthy lives.”
Miss De Kock said she was passionate about raising awareness of the disease and supporting the work of Parkinson’s UK.
“I wanted to take on a challenge and the London Marathon is certainly going to be one; I couldn’t run for five minutes when I applied to enter,” she said.
“I have been training two or three times a week since April, slowly upping my distance. I started completely from scratch and am now running around 40 kilometres a week on average.”
Pictured: Miss De Kock's grandmother, Rita, passed away in March 2020 after an eight-year battle with Parkinson's disease.
The marathon, which will be taking place on 2 October, is just over 42km.
“As well as the physical challenge, it’s a massive challenge mentally. I don’t think people realise when you’re running alone for ages it can be difficult. If I’ve been having a bad week, I really need to try and get in the right head space to go running myself,” said Miss De Kock.
“I’ll be running the Guernsey half marathon next month to get a taste for running in a crowd.”
Pictured: Miss De Kock with her grandparents and father, Niel.
Miss De Kock has set a fundraising target of £2,100 and has raised over £1,500 so far.
“I would like to thank everyone who has donated so far and would greatly appreciate any other donations to help me reach my target,” she said.
Pictured top right: Miss De Kock with her grandmother and brother, Daniel.
Comments
Comments on this story express the views of the commentator only, not Bailiwick Publishing. We are unable to guarantee the accuracy of any of those comments.