The Voice of Spalding and South Holland
A Spalding postie and his girlfriend will be back doing the rounds of London for charity.
On Sunday, (April 2)Rachael Nichols and Ade Mills will both be running the London Landmarks Half Marathon to raise money for The ME Association, a condition Racheal has been diagnosed with.
Ade, who’s worked as a postie in Spalding for 18 years, remembers doing a 20-mile charity walk with his parents on his ninth birthday.
He raised £12,000 for a cancer foundation he set up in memory of a former colleague. He’s already run the Landmarks Half a couple of times and, last year, took part in the London Marathon itself to raise money for a local hospice.
“But nothing means more to me than this year’s London Landmarks event for The ME Association,” he said. “Rachael, my beautiful, amazing girlfriend, was officially diagnosed with ME in 2020 a couple of months before we became a couple. For those people who are lucky to know her, she is beautiful, warm , kind , caring lady – with a wicked sense of humour.
“She makes me immensely proud of her each and every day.”
Rachael, from Wisbech, is a teaching assistant in a primary school.
She loves running, does a lot of it for charity and is quietly realistic about the limitations the ME puts on her ambitions. She’s determined, however, not to let this illness dictate how she lives her life.
Mother-of-one Rachael, who regularly takes part in local club runs, said: “I’m forever grateful for the treatment and therapy I received through the NHS. My diagnosis helped me to understand how my body works and how to face and manage a chronic illness that day in day out, also has great repercussions on my mental health.
“I continue with living life to the best level that I can, without ME actually being my life. It’s something I have…it must never become who I am!
“For me, running can be a treatment in itself, improving my cardiovascular fitness alongside my mental health. On the flip side, it can and regularly does aggravate the ME. However, in the long run (pardon the pun), I know that the exercise, socialising with other runners, feeling part of something and the sense of achievement is vital for my overall health.
“When I crash, I often wake up and see that my beautiful, caring son, Santiago has covered me with a blanket, put lavender drops on a tissue or my teddy bear and left a drink beside me for when I come to.
“My wonderful partner, Ade, is my rock and keeps all the plates spinning when I’m out of it. He regularly reminds me to rest and pace and never complains when having to hold the reins when I’m ill. “Just be kind to yourself” are words I regularly hear.
“Ade will also be running beside me in London. It’s going to be an amazing, challenging, emotional (and hopefully) successful 13.1 miles.”
There donation pages are www.justgiving.com/fundraising/ademills2022 and www.justgiving.com/fundraising/rachaelnichols2022
