A recruitment specialist from Nottingham will pull on his running shoes next month when he takes on his first Virgin Money London Marathon in aid of Alzheimer’s Research UK. David Bass, who works for specialist recruitment firm PageGroup, is one of hundreds of staff from the company taking up a challenge in support of the UK’s leading dementia research charity.Alzheimer’s Research UK was selected as PageGroup’s charity partner in 2013 for a two-year partnership, and employees across the country have pledged to cover 200,000 miles between them in a bid to raise £200,000 for dementia research. The money raised will fund two PageGroup Research Scholarships, bringing talented new researchers into the dementia research field on PhD programmes.David, a Managing Consultant at PageGroup’s Nottingham office, was spurred on to sign up for the challenge after completing the Nottingham marathon last year. He knows only too well the devastating impact dementia can have, after seeing family members affected by the condition.He explained:“Although I’m fairly fit and play football regularly, long distance running has never been my bag, but last year I decided to set myself a challenge and took part in the Nottingham marathon. It was such an amazing experience that afterwards, I said the only way to beat it would be to run in the London Marathon. The very next day we had an email at work about the event and although I was still hobbling from the Nottingham race, I decided to put my name in the ballot. I didn’t think I’d be selected, so when I got the news it was a bit of a shock!“Training has been going well, and I’ve set myself a routine of running the six miles home from work regularly as well as a long run at the weekend. I’m really looking forward to being in London and experiencing the buzz of the crowd, and I’ll have my family there cheering me on from the sidelines.“Dementia has affected a few members of my family and I’ve seen it affect close friends’ families too, so I’m pleased to be raising money for Alzheimer’s Research UK. Everyone has been very generous in supporting me, and I’ve broken the £1,000 mark but I’m still bugging people for sponsorship as I want to raise as much as I can.”Miranda Johnson, Head of Corporate and Community Partnerships at Alzheimer’s Research UK, said:“Running a marathon is a huge commitment, and we couldn’t be more grateful to David for taking on the challenge for us. The dedication PageGroup staff have shown already has been amazing, and David’s hard work and months of training will all help give a much-needed boost to dementia research.“Over 850,000 people are living with dementia in the UK today, including nearly 3,000 in Nottingham alone, and research is vital to make a difference to people’s lives. We rely on our wonderful supporters to be able to fund our pioneering research, and it’s thanks to people like David and his colleagues at PageGroup that we’re able to continue our work.”To sponsor David, visit https://www.justgiving.com/David-Bass3 or to learn more about corporate partnerships with Alzheimer’s Research UK, contact corporate@alzheimersresearchuk.org or 0300 111 5 777.
