A hospital pharmacist will run the London Marathon a year since becoming ill with a rare neurological disorder that “completely paralysed” him. 

Sunderland Royal Hospital advanced pharmacist practitioner Mark Learmouth was struck down in January 2024 with Guillain-Barre syndrome, a condition where the body's immune system attacks the peripheral nervous system. 

While recovering in hospital last April watching the London Marathon, he vowed to take part in it the following year to help him get fit again. 

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“I almost died on two occasions resulting in a three month stay in hospital,” the 34-year-old said. “It was during my time in a rehab hospital that I decided to set a goal for myself of running the London Marathon. 

Learmouth saw the University of Sunderland’s development office had a place at the London Marathon for a graduate who was willing to run to raise money for its Futures Fund (it supports young students to develop their careers and aspirations). 

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He decided to apply “to give back to the university that's given me so much” and hopes it will “help give others the same fantastic education myself and my family have received so that they can go on to have rewarding careers”. 

He has raised £2,323 so far, surpassing his £1,750 target with three months to spare. 

His family ties to the university run deep as his mother qualified as a pharmacist at Sunderland in 1979, with Mark then graduating with an MPharm in 2014 (he also completed a master's in clinical pharmacy). 

But he started in community pharmacy long before then, working in a “Saturday job alongside my mother. I decided that pharmacy was the career for me too. She had studied at Sunderland, so I started studying there too. A year after I started my sister Jemma also started at the university studying psychology. 

"The university was amazingly supportive and let Jemma and I graduate together. It was a really special moment for our family." 

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The university’s head of alumni and development Georgie Cox said Learmouth’s commitment to the University of Sunderland is “truly inspiring and will raise vital funds for our scholarship programme empowering students to reach their full potential”. 

People can donate to Learmouth and keep updated on his progress leading up to the marathon on April 27 here.