A Calderdale-based charity which could help millions of people facing serious and terminal illnesses is staging a Santa Dash at a cricket club near Outlane.

Christine Beal, of Rastrick, co-founded My Mito Mission after losing her daughter, Emma, to the little known condition Mitochondrial Disease aged just 28.

It’s a complex and, so far, incurable illness, but essentially mitochondrial are like little battery packs inside every cell in the body converting food into energy and if they don’t work properly they can have a major impact on people’s main organs, health and basic wellbeing.

It’s next fundraiser is the My Mito Mission Santa Dash at Stainland Cricket Club on Stainland Road next to Stainland Recreation Ground this Sunday, December 8, at 10am with people urged to arrive well before the start time.

The dash offers two scenic parkland routes – with 5k or 1.5k – with Santas in their original green suits which fits in with the My Mito Mission signature colour.

Adult tickets are £15 and children just £5 which includes a green Santa hat, a lapel pin and a certificate.

Mitochondrial dysfunction symptoms can start at any age and can involve any organ in the body with Emma suffering severe problems to her heart and brain before sadly dying in 2017.

Mitochondrial dysfunction is now known to be a factor in some of the most common and well-known medical conditions and diseases such as cancer, dementia, Parkinson’s, strokes, sepsis, diabetes, epilepsy and even Covid 19.

“This is why research into Mitochondrial Disease is so critical,” said Christine. “It can help in the treatment and research for many other conditions which is why we say that Mitochondrial research matters to millions. The more money we can put into mitochondrial research, the more a lot of other conditions could benefit.”

The charity has an unusual way of operating in that people who suffer from the condition set up their own Mito Missions to raise awareness and fundraising for the condition and Huddersfield Hub has featured two cases from the town recently.

One is dad-of-two Eddie Wall from Shepley who is a bespoke tailor and discovered he had the condition by sheer chance.

Why Eddie’s rare medical condition means he’s a man with a mission

The other are grandparents Jane and Jason Bates from Salendine Nook whose granddaughter Ella Bates was born with Pearson Syndrome, an incredibly rare mitochondrial disease which affects only 100 people worldwide, and, sadly, has a life expectancy of only three to five years.

Huddersfield grandparents on a Mito mission after baby Ella’s devastating diagnosis

Around one in 5,000 people suffer from the condition – that’s around 13,500 across the UK – which makes Mitochondrial Disease one of the most common genetic ones. There is no known cure although research is ongoing, thanks to the charity, which could have a positive bearing on research of lots of other, more commonly-known, serious conditions.

Symptoms can start at any age and can involve any organ in the body.

To sign up for the Santa Dash go to https://www.mymitomission.uk/get-your-green-on

Written by ANDY HIRST who runs his own Yorkshire freelance journalism agency AH! PR (https://ah-pr.com/) specialising in press releases, blogging, website content, copywriting and ghost-writing autobiographies.