Police officer set to finish 300-day running challenge to help colleague with motor neurone disease

Chris Williams, 54, who works for Lancashire Police and lives on the Fylde coast, vowed to run a minimum of 2km daily to raise money towards the £35,000 needed to enable colleague

Mark Cruise to have adaptations to his family home.

Mark, 53, who worked for Blackpool CID, was diagnosed with MND in February 2019.

Chris, who will finish the challenge in Poulton, initially intended to run every day for 30 days – but has kept the challenge going for 300 days.

And he decided to make the last part of the challenge even more difficult.

He said: ““For the last 38 days of my challenge, I decided to make it a little more interesting by setting myself a target of completing 1,000 miles which is about 3.5 miles a day for the

remainder of the challenge.

“I have been joined along the way by a fantastic group of friends and colleagues.”

Mark and his wife Laura, who live in Blackburn and have four children between them, need to adapt their home to support Mark through his illness, an incurable condition that affects the brain and nerves.

Mark's wife Laura said: "MND is a cruel and vicious illness. Although unpredictable with regards to the path it will take, the one guarantee given is that it is a terminal illness with about two years given as an average life expectancy.

"It’s hard to put into words the true devastation of MND.

"I cannot believe we live in a world where this illness exists."

Chris added: "I’d like to say a massive thank you to all those who have joined me in this challenge, whether you are a family member, friend or colleague. I really appreciate your help and support that you’ve shown to me, Mark, Laura and their family.

“I’m delighted to say I’ve well and truly smashed my original target of £5,000 to help with the adaptations needed to make Mark and Laura’s house accessible for Mark.”

To make a donation, please go to https://www.gofundme.com/f/cruiseys-journey