Colleague's Deafness Inspires Marathon Runner

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Colleague's deafness inspires marathon runner to support Deafness Research UK.

A colleague and friend who has been partially deaf in one ear for most of her life, and is likely to become more severely deaf with time, has inspired a London man to run the marathon for Deafness Research UK. Johan Fourie from Wandsworth has always wanted to run the marathon and decided that this year he was physically and mentally ready to do it. On applying, he saw that he could run for Deafness Research UK and was delighted to be able to support the charity which has so much relevance to his friend at work.

Johan remembers that he had been approached by a children's disability charity on the street and the conversation about the work they undertook had made a lasting impression on him. Johan said: "The conversation I had with that particular charity worker inspired me and since then I have always wanted to support charities where possible. When I went online to apply to run the marathon, I saw that Deafness Research UK had places available and I was delighted to be accepted."

Johan has been working with somebody who has been living with impaired hearing for many years and who recently found out might suffer further hearing loss: " I have become friends with a colleague who has to use a hearing aid. It would seem that she may be reliant on an additional hearing aid in the future and I have recently become much more aware of how deafness can affect people; so it is now more relevant than ever that I support Deafness Research UK by running the marathon."

Johan is looking forward to the day and said that training for the marathon has brought with it a healthier lifestyle. Johan said:" I have done some 18 and 20 miles runs and I am feeling in good form for the day. It's funny because the commitment to the training has meant I have been partying less and that's has had a generally positive impact on my life."