8-year-old Scarlett’s 20k in 10 days for MND

An 8-year-old girl from Dunoon, Argyll & Bute has raised more than £2,466 by running 20 kilometres (12.4 miles) in 10 days for her friend who recently died as a result of motor neurone disease (MND).

MND is a rapidly progressing terminal illness, which stops signals from the brain reaching the muscles. This may cause someone to lose the ability to walk, talk, eat, drink or breathe unaided.

Scarlett said: “I wanted to raise money for MND Scotland because my friend Dick Holgate passed away from MND. I want the charity to find a cure and to help people like Dick.

“My muma and I moved from Australia to Innellan, Scotland in 2018. We didn’t know anybody here when we moved. We joined a group of volunteers called Inspiring Innellan who keep the village clean and beautiful by planting flowers and painting railings and doing beach cleans and other things.

“We met Dick at Inspiring Innellan and he became our friend. He was a really clever gardener who planted lots of flowers around the village. He told me about different plants and he always asked me if I remembered the names. I always got one wrong, I still get it wrong now, and had to look it up – it’s brachyglottis. First, I thought it was brachiosaurus, but that’s a dinosaur, then brachiolaurus, then brachiogloris! I don’t think I’ll ever be as good as Dick at remembering the names!

“Dick had a plant on the table outside his house that his wife Margaret didn’t like, I really loved it and Dick told me all about it and how to look after it and he gave it to me. It’s a Sempervivum.

“I found the running very fun and it got me outside. I liked the views. I ran along beside the beach. Most of the time the weather was nice except one day and I didn’t have to run but I had to run extra the next two days. I liked running with friends

“Dick was a great person and everyone who knew him will really miss him. I don’t want this to happen to anyone else so this is why I’m doing this for MND.”

Scarlett’s mother, Dawn Gaze, is incredibly proud of Scarlett’s fundraising. She said: “I’m really proud of her, she’s a great kid and has always been kind-hearted and looks out for other people.

“I’m really proud of our community too and all the people who supported her and Dick. He was a lovely man and so well liked and it shows in people’s generosity.”

Iain McWhirter, Head of Fundraising at MND Scotland, said: “On behalf of everyone at MND Scotland I’d like to say a massive thank you to Scarlett for taking on this challenge for the charity – we’re really proud of everything she’s achieved.

“At times like these, every penny counts and because of people like Scarlett we’ll be able to keep funding our frontline services for people affected by motor neurone disease, and fund research into a cure.”

If you’d like to sponsor Scarlett and help boost her MND total even further, you can give directly to the charity via Scarlett’s JustGiving page.