Macclesfield dad to run London Marathon for charity which supported his late daughter
A father from Macclesfield is taking on the London Marathon in memory of his late child.
Ian Rankin will take on on the famous 26.2-mile route this Sunday April 23 to raise money for the national charity Epilepsy Action.
Ian, who works in the healthcare tech sector in our town, is a regular at Macclesfield Parkrun.
The Maxonian is pushing his body to the limits and has already smashed his £1000 target, with an amazing £1805 raised so far.
Ian is doing the UK's most famous race in memory of his daughter, Carla.
Carla sadly passed away in 2014, aged just 27, as a result of her epilepsy. Epilepsy affects around one in every 100 people in the UK and 79 people are diagnosed every day.
Carla was diagnosed with epilepsy from birth and, despite the many challenges she faced because of her epilepsy, was determined not to let it rule her life.:
"Carla was born with epilepsy and had her first seizure within a few weeks," explained Ian.
"Although she was on medication all her life, her seizures were unpredictable and no specific seizure trigger was ever identified. In her teenage years, Carla would experience night seizures, tonic-clonic seizures and on some occasions, she would have multiple seizures in a row resulting in hospitalisation."
"Despite the challenges of living with epilepsy, Carla always lived her life to the full, although sadly unpredictable seizures could knock her sideways or cause physical injury. She was bright, articulate, clever and was the life and soul of any gathering with a great sense of humour."
"Her employers and friends understood her condition. However, one of her biggest challenges was navigating the London Underground as epilepsy tended to affect her spatial awareness. She got lost a lot! As a teenager, she wasn't happy to find out that alcohol would adversely affect her meds but in typical Carla fashion, she compromised and drank moderately."
"Carla was determined that her condition was not going to dictate her life and that it would have to fit around her life choices, not the other way round!"
The family have been incredibly supportive of the charity and have raised the incredible amount of almost £200,000 so far through various fundraising events.
"Raising money for Epilepsy Action is hugely important to us as the charity helped Carla so much," added Ian.
"She used the Epilepsy Action Helpline a lot, particularly at university. The helpline was instrumental in helping Carla face social dilemmas, such as 'How do I tell my boyfriend about my condition?' and 'How do I speak to my employer about epilepsy?' They provided great practical advice that was not always forthcoming from a GP or even the neuro-specialists.
"Fundraising also helps us to manage our grief at losing Carla at the young age of 27. It keeps memories of Carla alive, and we've been so impressed by her friends all wanting to raise money for the same reasons."
Although Ian is a regular runner, the London Marathon will be his biggest challenge yet. He said:
"I do a lot of running, although I'm not particularly fast. Back in 2016, I started Parkrun 5k and now rarely miss a Saturday.
"I've done a few 10ks and half marathons but have always avoided the big one. When I got the letter to say I had a charity place for the marathon with Epilepsy Action, like most people I felt excited and terrified in equal measure, and still do to some extent. The training plan has been great for reassurance though and I will be really looking forward to crossing that finish line."
Macclesfield: You can donate to Ian's fundraiser here.
You can read the stories of other Macclesfield residents running this weekend's London Marathon by clicking here and here.
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