Would you like to run and fundraise for the SMS Foundation UK by taking part in the famous Great North Run? The SMS Foundation UK have 0 places left in the 2024 Great North Run taking place on Sunday 8 September 2024.

Join Team SMS at this iconic half marathon, taking you from the centre of Newcastle, through Gateshead to the stunning coastline of South Shields. This is a hugely popular event so don’t delay, contact us today to become a member of Team SMS and join us at this epic event!  If you are interested in running to raise vital funds for our cause, please contact us on fundraising@smith-magenis.co.uk today to register your interest! 

We have 0 spaces available for the London Landmarks Half Marathon 2025, if you would like to run on behalf of The SMS Foundation, please contact us using the link below.

Showcasing the grand, the quirky, and the hidden, this is London’s only half marathon through Westminster and the City of London.

Following a successful launch in 2018, the London Landmarks Half Marathon is growing strong year by year! Over 13,000 runners will start on Pall Mall, finish by Downing Street, and have fabulous views of London’s most iconic landmarks including Big Ben, St Paul’s Cathedral, Nelson’s Column, the Gherkin, the Shard, the Tower of London and the London Eye.

We would be thrilled for you to join us as a Team SMS charity place runner and support families living with SMS.

Already got a place?

Ballot places for the London Landmarks Half Marathon 2023 will be announced in July. If you have your own place, we would love you to join the team as your own place runner. You’ll get the same benefits as a Team SMS charity place runner, there just isn’t any fundraising pledge. We simply ask you to raise as much as you can.

To join us with your own place, email Helen Hargrave and she will get in touch to provide you with ‘Team SMS’ support and resources to help you with your run.

Contact us

Find out more about running for the SMS Foundation UK by contacting us at fundraising@smith-magenis.co.uk

Join Team SMS for the world’s biggest half marathon!

The Great North Run is the world’s largest half marathon with an incredible atmosphere, starting in Newcastle upon Tyne and finishing by the sea in South Shields. It’s a fantastic event for all, whether you’re after a personal best or just wanting to be a part of something special.

Secure a guaranteed place with the SMS Foundation UK by filling in a charity place registration form, or use your ballot place to join the team by following the ‘register your own place’ option.

Join us in 2022 and help us to support families in the UK living with SMS.

Already got a place?

Do you already have a place in the Great North Run 2022? Did you pay an entry fee directly to the event organisers? We’d love you to join the team as your own place runner. You’ll get the same benefits as a Team SMS charity place runner, there just isn’t any fundraising pledge. We simply ask you to raise as much as you can.

To join us with your own place, email Helen Hargrave and she will get in touch to provide you with ‘Team SMS’ support and resources to help you with your run.

Contact us

Find out more about running for the SMS Foundation UK by contacting us at fundraising@smith-magenis.co.uk

This event has now passed, and we would like to say a huge ‘THANK YOU’ to everyone who participated and help fundraise for this event.

Showcasing the grand, the quirky, and the hidden, this is London’s only half marathon through Westminster and the City of London.

Following a successful launch in 2018, the London Landmarks half marathon is growing strong year by year! Over 13,000 runners will start on Pall Mall, finish by Downing Street and have fabulous views of London’s most iconic landmarks including Big Ben, St Paul’s Cathedral, Nelson’s Column, the Gherkin, the Shard, the Tower of London and the London Eye.

Already got a place?

Do you already have a place in the London Landmarks Half Marathon 2022? Did you pay an entry fee directly to the event organisers? We’d love you to join the team as your own place runner. You’ll get the same benefits as a Team SMS charity place runner, there just isn’t any fundraising pledge. We simply ask you to raise as much as you can.

To join us with your own place, email Helen Hargrave and she will get in touch to provide you with ‘Team SMS’ support and resources to help you with your run.

Contact us

Find out more about running for the SMS Foundation UK by contacting us at fundraising@smith-magenis.co.uk

This vital support is so important to our families, who turn to us for help.

Lockdown has come with its own pressures and the SMS Foundation has been brilliant in providing tailored advice for any behavioural changes and methods to help calm situations. Alongside the tricycle donation, they’ve truly been a saviour over the last few months!

Mum of nine year old boy with SMS

Meeting future demand

Since 2019, demand for our services has soared but COVID-19 has decimated our income and has left us unable to expand our services any further to meet the growing demand from SMS families. We want to be able to grow towards everyone with SMS having the chance of a fulfilling future. But we are now in a position of not being able to expand our work, as COVID-19 has left us with no funding to develop our vision for the future.

We do not want to be in this position – we have created the Fulfilling Futures appeal to raise £50,000 to help us be here tomorrow and the next day. We want to be here to support all those living with SMS to have a fulfilling future. But we can’t do this without your help.

We need your help

We are making a desperate plea to you, our community, for donations towards the Fulfilling Futures appeal, to help us be here in the future for people living with SMS. There is so much we want to be able to do to support families now, and in the future – but without your donations, we simply won’t be able to do this.

Here’s how you can support us today:

Join Team SMS on Saturday 19 and Sunday 20 June 2021 to take part in our SMS Stay Awake Challenge!  

As part of our SMS Fulfilling Futures Appeal, we are asking our SMS community, friends, families, colleagues and schools to join us in staying awake all night (handily on the shortest night of the year ?) to raise money for the SMS Foundation UK! Can you donate to the SMS Foundation, or ask people to sponsor your Stay Awake challenge, and help us to support families in the UK living with SMS? 

Click on this link here to a sponsorship form today!

For those who need our beauty sleep, maybe you would like to host a Pyjama Party at any time during the weekend!  You can even do this during the day so that you don’t miss out on your sleep ? 

Why are we staying awake all night? 

Did you know that people living with SMS have a very unusual sleep cycle? Their melatonin (the hormone responsible for sleep) levels are reversed – this is due to the deletion of a particular gene (RAI1) on chromosome 17.   

This means people with SMS are sleepy during the day and awake for many hours during the night.   

The disrupted sleep pattern of SMS is a huge challenge for families living with SMS. This is why we have chosen to hold our Stay Awake Challenge on the longest day/shortest night to reflect the lack of sleep that many of our parents and carers face on a daily basis. 

Take a look at our video of our SMS Bear and see all the things he gets up to at night time when everyone else is sleeping…

Spread the word!   

Tell your schools, workplaces and community groups about our Stay Awake Challenge – the more the merrier! We would love for as many people as possible to be involved in raising vital funds for the SMS Foundation UK.  It couldn’t be easier – either use the sponsorship form on our website, or donate online at https://www.justgiving.com/campaign/SMSFulfillingFutures or text SMSFUTURE (Your amount i.e. 5,10, or 20) to 70450 to donate. 

Take on the Stay Awake challenge for all those living with SMS – stay awake all night, ask for sponsorship or make a donation to the SMS Foundation – and experience a night in the life of an SMS family. 

We are looking forward to you joining Team SMS for this event!