Lord John Prescott’s Son to Run London Marathon for Alzheimer’s Research UK

The son of former Deputy Prime Minister Lord John Prescott is running the TCS London Marathon for Alzheimer’s Research UK.

Lord Prescott, who served as East Hull MP for 40 years, died in November with Alzheimer’s disease.

His son, David, has signed up to run the iconic race on April 27 to raise money for the UK’s leading dementia research charity in his memory.

He said: “If nothing changes, 1 in 2 of us are going to be affected by dementia either by caring for somebody with the condition, developing dementia ourselves, or both. My experience is an example of this.

“I’ve been one of those 1 in 2.”

“I’m running the London Marathon in memory of my father to raise some money and awareness of the great work Alzheimer’s Research UK is doing.

“After speaking with the charity, I was shocked to discover that dementia is now the biggest killer of people in the UK, even more than cancer, and that it costs the economy £42 billion per year.

“But dementia research receives significantly less funding compared to other serious health conditions.

“That’s why I want to do my bit to help level up the funding and close that gap.”

Hilary Evans-Newton, Chief Executive of Alzheimer’s Research UK, said: “We’re so grateful to David for taking on this year’s London Marathon for Alzheimer’s Research UK, in honour of his father Lord John Prescott.

“It’s tragic that in his final years, Lord Prescott was impacted by dementia. And it highlights how this cruel condition can affect any one of us.

“Having witnessed this devastation first-hand, David now wants to stop this from happening to other families.

“David’s marathon efforts will help to raise much-needed awareness and funding to accelerate our search for a cure.

“We wish David all the best with his training and we can’t wait to cheer him – and all our other runners – along on the day!”