Lisa takes on Great North Run challenge after gran's tragic last days

A TEESDALE mother-of-two will be pounding the streets of Tyneside in memory of her grandmother.
Gainford’s Lisa Johnstone will don her trainers and complete the Great North Run for Alzheimer’s Research UK later this year.
The 48-year-old began running two years ago after an on-off relationship with the sport.
After being “blown away” by the support she’d received on the run last year, she wanted to back a charity cause close to her heart.
Ms Johnstone said: “My grandmother and other members of my family had Alzheimer’s and dementia and I could see what it was doing to my mum and dad.
“They were wanting to go on holiday and reaching a time of life when they were thinking of relaxing.
“But then my mum was caring for my grandmother and it was really difficult for both of them.”
Betty Bell, from Darlington, was one of ten siblings – four of whom went on to have either dementia or Alzheimer’s Disease.
Ms Johnstone described how her grandmother had loved to cook from memory but as the disease took hold, confusion began to creep in.
“She was such a good cook and a big baker – a Mary Berry type figure,” she added.
“But, even though they were old memories, she couldn’t remember the recipes.
“Towards the end she couldn’t move and did not recognise us.”
Mrs Bell died in 2003 and her granddaughter said completing the run in her memory would be an emotional experience.
She added: “My grandma passed away some time ago but it was always something quite close to my heart. The atmosphere at the Great North Run is like nothing else. I expect I will feel emotional at the end of a long run.
“When I saw the Red Arrows come over last year I felt like I could have run the whole thing again.”
A taxidermist turned website designer, Ms Johnstone hated running in childhood but took to it in her twenties.
She joined the Quakers Running Club, in Darlington, aged 46 after a recommendation from a friend.
She added: “I’ve never looked back – I would recommend it to anyone.
“The first time I did it I thought I was too old or too fat and I was literally shaking.
“Thankfully, I plucked up the courage and now I feel like I’ve joined a second family.”
To donate to Ms Johnstone’s fundraiser, go to www.justgiving.com/fundraising/ljjohnstone