A WOMEN’S health specialist physiotherapist from Airedale hospital is running this year’s London Marathon in aid of new dementia charity Dementia Revolution.

Mother of five, Jill Atherton, 58, from Cross Hills, has worked at the trust for 20 years, and has been running since she was a 24 year old physiotherapy student.

Jill, who runs to work every day, will be joined in the race, on Sunday, April 28, by her friend and running partner with the Airedale Dodgers, Tracey Healey, whose father died of dementia. Her family will also be making the trip to London to cheer her on.

“I’ve known Tracey a long time, and she used to work at Airedale as a speech and language therapist. We both still run together in the Airedale Dodgers; the hospital’s running club. We’ve been running and training together for the marathon, including going to Lanzarote to train as part of a group – this was a great test of seeing if we could run in the heat,” she said.

“I’m excited to be running for Dementia Revolution as it is a really good cause; their focus is on research into dementia treatments. Dementia affects so many people, and research could help to end it. As a physiotherapist, I see patients and families whose lives are affected by the condition, so I hope this will get people thinking about all the issues surrounding dementia.”

Their donation page can be found at uk.virginmoneygiving.com – search for ‘Dodgy Dames’.