BOB HARDING IS RUNNING THE LONDON MARATHON ON BEHALF OF THE VITILIGO SOCIETY. PLEASE SUPPORT HIM BY CLICKING THE IMAGE BELOW ON THE RIGHT AND MAKING A PLEDGE ALSO BY SENDING HIS JUSTGIVING PAGE REFERENCE

www.justgiving.com/Run4Vitiligo

TO ALL YOUR FRIENDS AND ASKING THEM EACH TO MAKE A SMALL DONATION. IF EVERYONE VISITING THIS PAGE PLEDGED JUST £10 IT WOULD MAKE A TREMENDOUS DIFFERENCE TO THE SOCIETY'S FUNDS IN 2010

 

Things You Can tell Your Friends:

About The Society
This is the 25th anniversary year of the Vitiligo Society and we are looking to use Bob`s marathon run as a significant fund-raising opportunity. We are not a big charity but the information and support that we can offer to sufferers both existing and newly diagnosed is vital to help people learn to cope and come to terms with the condition.  We know there is a lot of other demands on your money these days but please give a little to the Vitiligo Society.
 
Information About Bob
Bob Harding is a life member of the Vitiligo Society and has run several previous marathons, in particular, London in 2001 (4hours 2minutes), Paris in 2003 (3hours 59minutes) and the New Forest Sep 2003 (3hours 46minutes). Bob says “ I haven't run any marathons since 2003, but I guess I'd still like to get round London in under 4hours,  but we'll see..Bob is 47 and has been married for 15 years to Jackie.  Bob has two daughters Holly 14, Lucy 12 and a dog called Daisy 1. Bob works as an IT Manager for Cancer Research UK.

 

What Bob Says About Himself and Vitiligo
I first found out I had Vitiligo in my teens when I noticed a few white patches which just burnt in the sun, then over the years the patches of white skin progressively spread. I`m a lot more fortunate than a lot of Vitiligo sufferers insomuch as I`m fair skinned so you would never really notice I had it, apart from the summer months when the non-Vitiligo skin tans and contrasts the white patches so much more. You end up having this love/hate relationship with winter and summer. I love the summer heat but I hate having to wear ultra high factor or long sleeves and trousers, and then in the winter, I don`t like the cold but am thankful for it, as I can cover up completely. Whilst Vitiligo isn`t a life threatening condition, it causes great psychological distress especially where the effects of depigmentation are so much more pronounced in darker skinned people. There isn`t yet a known cure, although there are treatments which can alleviate or reverse the depigmentation but the long-term results are not always stable; the patches can and often do return.