From June 1st 2017, CDF Runners will end its long association with Nike and begin a new chapter with independent local chain Moti. Continue reading “New Chapter for CDF Runners”
New Chapter for CDF Runners
Support Deano the Dementiasaurus!
Honorary CDF Runner Deano the Dementiasaurus had a productive but exhausting time this weekend preparing for the Cardiff Half Marathon. On Saturday morning he ran 25:45 at Cardiff parkrun and then on Sunday morning Deano enjoyed volunteering at Cardiff Junior parkrun. However, a close encounter with some ‘over-enthusiastic children’ left Deano’s tail in need of major surgery.
Afterwards, Deano joined C25K graduate Maryam for a (almost) 17km training run – the furthest either of them had ever run! He was humbled by the constant support of the wonderful Cardiff public on every path and street they ran.
This exhausting weekend will all be worthwhile if it enables Deano to conquer the Cardiff Half next weekend and help the work of Alzheimer’s Research UK. You can support his efforts by visiting www.justgiving.com/dementiasaurus
Dementia is a collective name for progressive degenerative brain syndromes which affect memory, thinking, behaviour, communication and emotion. Although each person will experience dementia in their own way, eventually those affected are unable to care for themselves and need help with all aspects of daily life. This can transform the lives, not only of the dementia sufferer, but also of their family and friends who care for them, in frightening and unpredictable ways.
Dementia is one of the fastest growing illnesses around the world. Worldwide, 47.5 million people have dementia and there are 7.7 million new cases every year. There are 850,000 people with dementia in the UK, with numbers set to rise to over 1 million by 2025. At current rates, this will soar to 2 million by 2051.
Although dementia mainly affects older people, it is not a normal or
inevitable part of ageing. However, despite various ways to prevent its onset, medicines to slow its progression and treat its symptoms, and support to manage living with the disease, there is currently no known cure for most types of dementia.
Alzheimer’s Research UK is the UK’s leading dementia research charity, dedicated to funding pioneering scientific studies to find ways to treat, cure or prevent dementia. As of 2015, Alzheimer’s Research UK funds 127 research projects and has committed nearly £40m to dementia research. Specifically, current studies are employing cutting-edge stem cell research to look into what causes nerve cells to die and why.
Donations are essential for Alzheimer’s Research UK to fund their work, with world-class advisory panels ensuring that funding decisions are taken in a rigorous and effective manner.
New running group for Asylum seekers!
Hi everyone, you may have seen recently how we’ve been supporting a new running group aimed specifically at Asylum Seekers and Refugees, and so I wanted to explain what’s going on.
My name is Stewart and I work for local charity Diverse Cymru, and I’ve been speaking to colleagues at Oasis Cardiff and Space4u to get this project up and running.
Oasis Cardiff and Space4u do fantastic work with asylum seekers and refugees to make them feel welcome in the community and provide vital services that would not otherwise be available. Diverse Cymru run a unique mental health support programme which deals with the particular issues faced by asylum seekers.
To briefly explain their situation, when someone is persecuted to the point where their life is in danger, they are forced to flee their country, often leaving their family and entire way of life behind them. Some come to the UK, because of historic links, language skills or simply because they jump on a boat or truck and this is where they end up. Once they have arrived a made a formal claim for asylum, they are an asylum seeker. Once this has happened the Home Office will send this person to a ‘dispersal area’, such as Cardiff, to wait for their claim. This can take years and years to complete, with the asylum seeker not allowed to work or claim benefits in that time. When (if) their claim is finally accepted, they become a refugee.
A colleague and I had an idea to create a running group for the benefits that us runners already know all about and, luckily, I mentioned it to Oasis who had been planning exactly the same idea and we decided to work together! I then used my link with CDF Runners to help support the group, provide some expertise and volunteers to get it off the ground.
The response has been brilliant, and we’ve had lots of volunteers come forward to help facilitate some simple weekly running sessions. Starting in the middle of Ramadan might not have been the most ideal time to start, but the first session coincided with Refugee Week and we thought it would be best to just get going and start building momentum.
We’ve also collected loads of running shoes and clothes, which has been a huge help, and has enabled many people to start to run or to pick up the habit again after many years. I’ve also been in contact with other local running clubs who have also pledged donations, which is a great demonstration of the running community coming together.
If you would like to support this group with donations, we’ll always be looking out for running shoes and clothes, as well as opportunities of free race entries, please get in touch at cdfrunners@gmail.com or tweet us @CDFRunners.
