Kathryn races to new challenge for charity

KATHRYN Shrimpton is no stranger to new challenges. It was her ‘can do’ attitude that led her and husband Paul to launch an unlikely business breeding alpacas in the heart of Northumberland.

And now, the mum-of-three has set herself another challenge at the age of 53… her first half marathon just two years after taking up running.

Kathryn, of Hexham, was inspired to sign up for the Hexham Half Marathon on Sunday to raise funds for Alzheimer’s Society.

This week she spoke candidly about her decision, and how dementia has devastated her family and strained her relationship with her parents.

She said: “Both my mother and father-in-law have the condition. However, it has affected them in very different ways.

“Unfortunately, my relationship with my parents has suffered since my mum was diagnosed five and a half years ago.

“The progress of the disease is slow in her case and she is actually in denial about having it, which makes it difficult for me to help her.

“I feel I am constantly being pushed away. My father thinks it upsets her too much to discuss it, so we don’t. It’s hard because she could be taking advantage of the support that’s out there.

“I must admit I wasn’t prepared for the way dementia has changed my relationship with my parents – it’s one of the hardest things to accept.

“They’re very independent, so helping them isn’t easy. But raising money for Alzheimer’s Society is one thing I can do, so this is my way of helping.

Kathryn is already within a few pounds of her £1,000 target.

Kathryn said: “The way dementia has affected my father-in-law is quite different to my mum. He’s 77 and was only diagnosed just over a year ago, but the disease has progressed very rapidly.

“With my mum, the main issues are gaps in her memory and repetition, such as asking the same question over and over, but with my father-in-law the dementia caused mood swings and sometimes quite emotional outbursts.

“In a way, it was a relief when he was diagnosed. His behaviour had become so erratic that we needed a reason why.”

Kathryn and husband Paul have been running their alpaca business for 13 years and now have 55 of them.

She said: “We just fell in love with alpacas when we first saw them at the Northumberland County Show in 2002.

“Now we have developed different strands to the business. We breed them, we sell clothing made from their fleece, and this year we launched Alpaca Encounters, which enables people to walk them, feed them and generally learn more about them.”