120km for CASK on Rare Disease Day

Lieutenant Colonel Gareth Hattersley undertook a 120-kilometre run on Rare Disease Day (28 February) from Fulwood Barracks in Preston to Gaza Barracks at Catterick Garrison. The ambitious endeavour, completed within 24 hours with support from twelve regiment members, commemorated the disbandment of 3 Medical Regiment and served as a fundraising effort for three charities.

Hattersley selected CASK Research Foundation as his personal charity, motivated by his five-year-old niece Sarah, who has MICPCH — a rare genetic disorder caused by a CASK gene mutation. Only approximately 230 cases have been diagnosed worldwide. The condition disrupts brain development, causing learning difficulties, movement and coordination problems, and frequent epileptic seizures requiring emergency hospitalisations. Sarah relies on a feeding tube and is unlikely to develop the ability to walk or speak.

The route mixed footpaths and roads, beginning at the River Ribble and passing through Clitheroe and Settle before crossing the Pennines — through Aysgarth and the River Ure before concluding at Catterick Garrison.

Hattersley emphasised that his sister-in-law, Laura, founded CASK Research Foundation in 2022 to support research into CASK gene disorders, drawing inspiration from prior groundbreaking work on CDKL5 deficiency disorder. He expressed hope that therapeutic treatments could be developed with proper support.

Initial fundraising targets of £500 per charity were surpassed. Alongside CASK Research Foundation, the British Heart Foundation and The Army Benevolent Fund also benefited.