Chris Lakin is Marathon man in New York, Edinburgh and London!

Many people entering the London Marathon do so to raise money for charity and while some are just looking to complete the course, some people like Staffordshire’s Chris Lakin are looking to put in a good time too. Chris, 35, is no stranger to Marathons and cross country runs. He completed a five mile race on his home turf of Cannock Chase last August and also completed the prestigious New York Marathon in 2008, which made taking part in the London Marathon a logical step. It was just a question of which charity he would support.

"I choose to run in aid of charity as I love running," explained Chris, "I ran the New York Marathon for a local charity, so I decided to run London for Deafness Research UK. I work in a sales position for a hearing aid and audiology company, so I know of the importance of Deafness Research UK’s work and thought because of my work connection, I stood a good chance of raising more money for them."

Chris is looking to raise over £1,500 for Deafness Research UK, although London will not be the end of his endeavours. Once Chris has London under his belt, just four weeks later he will be turning his attention to Edinburgh Marathon too! "I am hoping to hit my fundraising target with London, but I will be taking part in the Edinburgh Marathon just after London and I am doing this for Deafness Research UK too, so between them I am hoping to do quite well with my fundraising!"

Anyone looking to sponsor Chris on his epic ‘Marathon of Marathons’ in aid of Deafness Research UK can do so by visiting his fundraising page at http://www.justgiving.com/chris-lakin. His efforts are sure not just to raise a lot of money, but will inspire many people to follow in his footsteps.

Sue Bowcock, Community and Events Officer for Deafness Research UK, said: "Chris is one more example of people who go to extraordinary lengths to support Deafness Research UK. Running not just one but two Marathons for us is absolutely amazing. We are all so grateful for his efforts, which are sure not just to raise a lot of money, but will inspire many other people to think about running for charity in the future."

One in seven of the UK population suffers from a hearing disability and the funds raised by people like Chris is about more than just money, it’s about giving people hope for a cure or a way to manage their condition, enabling them to get on with running their lives. Talking of running, how does Chris expect to go on in the Marathon?

"My best time for a Marathon so far is 3hrs 40mins 4 secs," said Chris, "so anything towards 3hrs 30mins would be a great achievement."

For further information, contact Sue Bowcock on 0207 679 8965 or e-mail her at sue.bowcock@deafnessresearch.org.uk
ENDS

Notes to editors
About Deafness Research UK
• Deafness Research UK is the country’s only charity dedicated to finding new cures, treatments and technologies for deaf, hard of hearing and other hearing impaired people.
• The charity supports high quality medical research into the prevention, diagnosis and treatment of all forms of hearing impairment including tinnitus.
• The Deafness Research UK Information Service provides free information and advice based on the latest scientific evidence and informed by leading experts. The Information Service can be contacted on Freephone 0808 808 2222
• For more information on research into deafness, tinnitus and other hearing conditions, log on to the website at www.deafnessresearch.org.uk where you can access a wide range of information. Alternatively you can e-mail Deafness Research UK at info@deafnessresearch.org.uk
• One in seven people in the UK – almost nine million people - suffer hearing loss.
• Deafness Research UK was founded in 1985 by Lord (Jack) and Lady Ashley of Stoke.
• In January 2008, Action for Tinnitus Research (ATR) was linked with Deafness Research UK under a uniting direction order under section 96(6) of the Charities Act 1993.

Scientific & medical advances
Since its creation in 1985, Deafness Research UK has awarded over £10 million in research grants to secure radical improvements in the prevention, diagnosis and treatment of all forms of hearing impairment.
The advances we have been responsible for include:
• the development of the Otoacoustic Emissions (OAE) test to enable doctors to identify hearing impaired babies at birth.
• research into more effective cochlear implant devices and services, including assessment, fitting and rehabilitation procedures for children.
• improvements in signal processing for digital hearing aids in order to help improve speech discrimination and understanding, particularly in noisy environments
• the isolation of genes responsible for many forms of inherited deafness including the most important breakthrough – that mutations in the Connexin-26 gene cause a significant proportion of congenital and childhood deafness
• research into preventing or repairing inner ear damage, including funding researchers who were the first to report that hair cells in the mammalian balance system can regenerate
• the discovery that an overproduction of the neurotransmitter glutamate can be linked to tinnitus, a finding which could lead to new drug treatments for the condition.


Further Deafness Research UK achievements can be found at http://www.deafnessresearch.org.uk and following the ‘achievements’ button. A direct link follows here:
http://www.deafnessresearch.org.uk/Scientific%20%26amp%3B%20medical%20advances+2213.twl

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