A vasculitis patient at the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR)/Wellcome Trust Clinical Research Facility (CRF), part of University Hospitals Birmingham NHS Foundation Trust (UHB) completed the Birmingham half-marathon on Sunday 15 October 2017, to raise money for the charity that helped him.

Malcolm Bruce, 56, was diagnosed with vasculitis, an autoimmune disease which attacks the blood vessels, in 2015 but is now in remission.

Malcolm had read that exercise could reduce fatigue, a common symptom of vasculitis.

Malcolm added: "The team at the CRF are wonderful, special people, and I really want to thank them.”

“Their encouragement, along with the support of Vasculitis UK and my family, has really helped me come to terms with having vasculitis.”

“I started just walking round a local lake with walking sticks, and now I’ve managed a half-marathon.”

“It still hasn’t sunk in that I ran a whole half-marathon, but I’m already starting to plan more goals for next year.”

“I want to do anything I can to help and thank Vasculitis for their continued support.”

Malcolm also attends a local support group, Vasculitis Support Group West Midlands (VSGWM), which was started in the mid-90s when Margaret Gentle, a retired nurse, realised there was limited support outside the NHS for those with the disease.

In recent years, thanks to the availability of information online and the expansion of Vasculitis UK, attendance at the annual meeting has fluctuated, with the most recent meeting having over 60 attendees.

Linda Coughlan, CRF Research Nurse, said: “I met Malcolm at the last VSGWM meeting, where I spoke about an observational study, Fab-V, which will see whether increasing physical activity in patients with ANCA vasculitis will reduce fatigue.”

“We don’t know why vasculitis is associated with fatigue, but in some patients increasing activity can really help.”

“Completing a half-marathon with vasculitis is a brilliant achievement, and the whole team at CRF are very proud of Malcolm.”

More information on vasculitis can be found on the Vasculitis UK website.

For more information on the NIHR CRF, please visit the UHB Research website or contact Linda Coughlan.

Email: Linda.Coughlan@uhb.nhs.uk