A KIND-HEARTED little girl has taken on a challenge to run 100km before the end of the summer in honour of her great-grandfather, who has a rare form of dementia.

Evie Flynn, a pupil at Low Moor CofE Primary School, is the youngest person to have signed up this year for Alzheimer’s Research UK’s Running Down Dementia campaign, which challenges people to run or walk 100km before August 31.

She has been taking part in junior parkruns in Brighouse and has also been doing a couple of 1km or 1.5km runs after school each week.

Evie, seven, was inspired to take on the challenge as her great-grandfather - known as ‘Poppy’ - has frontotemporal dementia (FTD). The 74-year-old was diagnosed in 2012 and is now living in a nursing home.

Evie’s mum Charlie, 28, said: “When Poppy went into the nursing home in May it hit Evie quite hard, she was upset about it. She said she wanted to turn it into a positive by doing something to raise money to find a cure.

“We looked on the internet to see what she could do and she found the Running Down Dementia challenge. I told her 100km is a really long way, but she’s determined to do it.

“I’m immensely proud of her. The only thing for me is that she finds it fun – I don’t want her to feel there’s pressure on her to complete it. But she’s really enjoying the challenge and she’s loving that she’s raising money – she is forever checking my emails to see if she’s got any more donations.”

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Charlie added: “When we visited Poppy recently we told him about what Evie is doing and showed him some pictures of her running. Although his dementia is quite advanced now, he still understands things. He had tears in his eyes and you could see he was really proud of her.”

FTD is thought to account for fewer than one in 20 of all dementia cases. While most people associate dementia with memory loss, people living with FTD usually have changes in their behaviour and personality and even their speech.

“Dementia is devastating as it takes the person away from you,” Charlie said. “We’ve accepted he’s no longer my grandad, although you do still get glimpses of him. It’s very hard as you love them just as much but it’s not the person you know.

“He can’t speak now, but you can get a smile from him. He’s very aware of who my children are and he adores them, especially Evie as she’s the only girl in the family. She’s got bright ginger hair, so when she walks into his room his eyes light up.”

To sponsor Evie, visit running downdementia2018.everyday hero.com/uk/evie-1