Michael Shepherd

In October 2012, Mike had a series of heart scares that resulted in him having a pace maker fitted. This affected his fitness, training and outlook on life. When that sort of life changing event occurs most people take a good look at their lives and decide what is important. For Mike, it was his family. He decided to do something that would help all families who struggle with ME / CFS. His daughter has had ME / Chronic Fatigue since September 2008 and he saw firsthand how damaging ME can be to a person’s life, their prospects and their family. Since applying to run the marathon his wife has fallen ill with Fibromyalgia, meaning that she is now wheelchair bound and shows very similar signs mentally to that of Alzheimer sufferers. Mike is now the carer for both his wife and daughter. “Whilst I have run many half marathons I have found that marathons are a big stretch and so I have only done two so far. The first was the London Marathon in 2010 where I trapped a nerve in my hip at 18.5 miles and had to walk to the end, but at least I finished. The second was the Brighton Marathon in 2012. This one I ran all the way in 4 hours 33 minutes, but I was tired in a big way. My aim in doing this outlandish North Pole marathon is to show the world that there is life after having a pacemaker. I am also hoping to raise a considerable amount of money for charity.