So many of our missions and supporters have done an incredible job raising awareness and funds with their charity places in the Great Manchester 10k and Great Bristol Run which took place in May, and the Great North and Great Scottish Runs which are coming up in Autumn!

A big shoutout and congratulations to Ella’s parents, Hannah & Darragh, and their friends Leanne and Mike who all ran in the Great Bristol Run in May and raised a huge £4,380 for Ella’s Mito Mission and Children’s Hospice South West. Ella spent the final 2 weeks of her life at the hospice, and the family were able to make the very most of their time together thanks to the wonderful facilities and staff there. Well done to all involved – an amazing legacy for such a beautiful little girl.

You can read Ella’s story and support her mission here.

We are so incredibly proud of our Great Manchester 10k entrant Paula who not only completed the race despite her vision loss, heart problems and fatigue as a result of having mitochondrial disease, but also raised some absolutely amazing awareness and raised over £750! Paula said, “For many, a 10k is just a run. For me, it is proof that mitochondrial disease does not define me – and a chance to make a difference for others living with this condition.” So inspiring!

Finally, we want to highlight just one of our amazing runners for the Great North Run with a very important, personal reason for running. Nicola’s husband Ross had a stroke and several repeated seizures in 2018. Over the past 4 years, symptoms slowly crept in such as heart failure, hearing loss, type 2 diabetes, fatigue, vision problems and more, and Ross was finally diagnosed with MELAS, a form of mitochondrial disease, in late 2025.

Nicola is running in the half marathon and their kids Charlie and Florence are taking part in the Junior 4km run, all to raise awareness and funds for their husband/dad’s illness. They’ve already raised a fantastic £800 – the link to support them is here.