On May 10th 2015, Alex Valentine suffered a catastrophic stroke whilst running in the Leeds Half Marathon. He tells his own story here:

http://thetab.com/uk/leeds/2016/04/05/i-severe-stroke-i-running-half-marathon-24058?utm_source=local&utm_medium=facebook&utm_campaign=pages

Over the last year Alex has fought hard in his recovery and is determined to return to Leeds University this coming September. One of the residual effects of Alex's stroke is a loss of mobility so as a group we have decided to get together and run the 2016 Leeds Half Marathon in order to raise funds towards a Functional Electrical Stimulation unit (FES) for Alex’s left leg. This is essential piece of equipment for Alex. We want to help Alex as much as possible to walk again and an FES could make a massive difference to his mobility. Returning to Uni is going to be tough for Alex and we want to maximise his chances of success in this.
Through running the Leed’s Half Marathon we also want to raise money for some of the fantastic organisations who have helped Alex over the last year, so that they can continue to support others. These include the Leeds General Infirmary Acute Stroke Unit, Portland Ward Neuro-Rehab Unit at Poole Hospital and QEF Neurological Rehabilitation Unit in Banstead. We hope you will sponsor us for Alex and these fantastic causes.

We'd love it if you could check out our Facebook page below and get to know the runners themselves:

https://www.facebook.com/runningtheleedshalf/