A DAUGHTER who first took up running when her mother was diagnosed with Alzheimer's Disease is hoping to conquer the London Marathon.

Dianne Sullivan has used exercise as a coping strategy since her mother Joan died last May and she has already raised more than £3,000 for a leading research charity into the disease.

After losing her Welsh father, the news of her mother's diagnosis came as a huge shock to Dianne, who was busy finishing her PhD in cancer research at the time.

Her mother found that her coal-miner husband had died suddenly before a night shift when Dianne, who now lives in Newbury, was only 11 years old.

With her mother in her thoughts at all times, the next logical step was to take on the marathon on April 22.

She said: “She was diagnosed just before her 70th birthday, and soon afterwards, she stepped down as church treasurer, as she could not keep up with the bookkeeping anymore.

“She was a really active part of the community. She helped out at the local church and fundraised to repair the church roof. She really pulled the community together to make that happen.

Reading Chronicle:

“When she died last year we held the funeral in that same church. Even though she had not been around in a few years, so many people from the community turned up.”

When Dianne was the only one of her peers to go to university, her mum supported her in her desire to get an education.

Sadly, by the time Dianne’s daughter - Bronwyn - was born, Joan’s condition was so advanced that she was not able to recognise that she had a granddaughter.

She added: “Because of my background in cancer research, I know that dementia research is underfunded in comparison.

"We need to find a way to prevent this from happening to other families, but we also need to keep working to remove the stigma that is attached to dementia."

Visit: www.justgiving.com/fundraising/Dianne-Sullivan1 to donate to Dianne's online fundraising page.