Will Pickles, from Bingley, is taking on the Great North Run in honour of a close friend who has muscular dystrophy. He speaks to Laura Reid ahead of the event.

It became a familiar sight during his university days the best part of 20 years ago, crowds gathering along the route of what is now the biggest half marathon in the world.

“I always thought I would love to run that,” Will Pickles says - and next month, he’ll be one of the 60,000 determined people doing so, taking on the Great North Run to raise awareness and money in honour of his close friend Sean Spencer.

Will, 39, from Bingley, is supporting Muscular Dystrophy UK, hoping to raise £1,000 to help fund the charity’s vital research to develop treatments, and ultimately a cure, for rare muscle-wasting conditions, like Sean’s.

Will Pickles, left, is doing the Great North Run in honour of his friend Sean Spencer, right.

Sean, who lives in Lancashire, has Limb Girdle muscular dystrophy (LGMD), which causes progressive muscle-wasting and weakening, generally in the shoulder and pelvic area.

LGMDs present differently in people, even within the same family, with regard to age of onset, areas of muscle weakness, rate of progression and severity.

“I’ve known Sean for over eight years now and in that time I’ve seen the effect that muscular dystrophy has had on him, and also on his family,” Will says. “It impacts almost every aspect of his life. It’s a cruel condition.

“Sean is so positive about it. He does have his moments where things get him down because it affects his life hugely but Sean will still be the life and soul of the party.”

The two friends met through Will’s wife Kirsty, whose best friend Katie is married to Sean. The three of them will be cheering Will on during the run in Newcastle on Sunday, September 11.

Will, a pensions investment consultant, will be one of 115 runners wearing Muscular Dystrophy UK’s #TeamOrange colours.

“As well as raising money, what’s important also is that I’ve been sharing things on social media and talking to my friends and colleagues about muscular dystrophy,” he says.

“And I think it has raised a bit of awareness among people who might not have known what it was and how people have to live with it.”

Will, who grew up in Skipton, is hoping to finish the event in under two hours “and I’m feeling positive about that,” he says. “But If I run it in two hours or two and a half, it doesn’t really matter. I’ll still be raising money.”

He adds: “I’m particularly looking forward to the last couple of miles where you run slightly downhill to the coast in South Shields. I imagine the crowds are amazing.

“That will be particularly special for me as my grandad was from South Shields.”

It is hoped that more than £60,000 will be raised for Muscular Dystrophy UK, through this year’s event.

The charity is for the 110,000 people living with muscle-wasting conditions in the UK, bringing together and supporting people affected by more than 60 rare and very rare progressive muscle-weakening and wasting conditions.

To support Will, visit www.justgiving.com/fundraising/GNR22MDUK-WillPickles

Bingley man takes on Great North Run to help research into a cure for friend’s muscular dystrophy