A MUM-of-two has teamed up with her cousin to run hundreds of kilometres in memory of her much-loved nan.

Cath Willis, from Chapelford, was upset to see her grandma Monica Brown struggling with dementia before her death last month with her family at her side. Cath, 35, said that after her grandad Alf died from a heart attack, Monica’s condition became a lot worse.

Together with her cousin, Jennifer Mehta, she decided to fundraise for Alzheimer’s Research so that other families would not have to experience the devastating disease.

She shared memories of happier times with her grandparents, who would have been celebrating 40 years of marriage next year: “My brother and I would stay over with them every weekend. My grandad was a black cab driver in Liverpool and we used to have picnics with him driving us around in the cab.

“All of us would spend a lot of time together at my nan’s house, which is why Jen and I are close.”

But she said the effects of dementia can be heartbreaking with families not only losing the person they once knew but also facing spiralling care costs.

She added: “My nan was always a big saver, she always said that money is for my family, but it ends up going on care.

“It meant that their house has had to go on the market to pay for medical care, which is upsetting for everyone.”

Cath, who works in the quality department at PQ Corporation, has already completed more than 100km as part of her fight to improve dementia research and has now doubled her target in the hope of reaching 200km by the end of October.

n To donate visit goo.gl/QvnNaZ.