I am running for Dystonia Society

My name is Phil Taylor, I am 45 years old and live in Pevensey Bay with my wife Mel and two daughters Danielle and Beth, where we own and run Ocean View Bakery and Restaurant in the Bay for the past six years which we love.

Apart from work and family my passion is running and I run at least three times a week. I also try to run a marathon at least twice a year and I have run approximately 11-12 marathons so far. I have also ran for charity previously running for “Get Kids Going” in New York and running the London Marathon for a young girl called Chloe Wright, raising money for cancer and running the Beachy Head Marathon for the Jayden Fund for MS and Downs Syndrome.

I have so many more ambitions marathon-wise that I want to achieve, personal best times I want to achieve and ultimate marathons I want to run such as the Boston marathon and of course the first ever Brighton Marathon which I will be running to raise money for the Dystonia Society after meeting Nikki Whitbread who suffers from dystonia.

I first met Nikki a couple of years ago when she came into our restaurant with her family for a meal. At that time I had no idea that Nikki had dystonia or for that matter what dystonia was as it was a disorder that I had never heard of and like the majority of people I was probably ignorant of the fact that such a disorder existed.

Nikki often came into see us for coffee or lunch and thats when when she told me about dystonia and how it affected her life so far. When I mentioned to Nikki that I had a place in the Brighton Marathon and was running just for the fun of running she asked if I would run for dystonia and help raise some money for the society.

I immediately said yes not only to raise money but to try and make people more aware of dystonia and the effects it has on people like Nikki.

As this is the first Brighton Marathon it may well be hard going but at the point when I’m having doubts about finishing or I’m struggling to put one leg in front of the other and my calf muscles are screaming at me to stop and walk, I know that there will will be one thing that will keep me going and that’s the smiling face of Nikki.

No matter what what she has been through whenever I see her she always has that warm happy smile upon her face.

Whatever has happened in my life pales into insignificance to what has and may happen to Nikki in the future and I know that running the Brighton Marathon will be a pleasure and an honour to run for someone as brave and courageous as Nikki.

Please donate if you can www.justgiving.com/Dystonias-Hero

Phil Taylor
Ocean View Bakery and
Restaurant, Pevensey Bay

STORY SOURCE : EASTBOURNE HERALD