A Weymouth man who was diagnosed with Huntington’s disease aged just 21 is running a marathon to raise money for the service that has ‘become a lifeline’ for him.

Jason Vallance is now 51 and plans to run the Portland Coastal Marathon on Sunday, February 11, in order to raise much-needed funds for the Veterans Hub.

The Veterans Hub on Portland Road, Weymouth, is currently ‘living month to month,’ and those behind the service are worried that it could close ‘any week.’

Jason plans to run the marathon across a two-day period with help from his friends at the hub, as well as medical support.

He said: “I want to challenge myself to complete the full Portland Marathon in 2024, as a personal challenge, and to raise funds for the Hub, which is a service which has become a lifeline for myself and many other veterans.”

Huntington’s is a degenerative disease that makes Jason ‘constantly fidgety, stumble, and finding it hard to walk or run.’

Jason joined the army because he ‘felt a physical job would help him mentally and physically,’ but was medically discharged after 18 years of service, due to his diagnosis.

The veteran said: “The doctor always tells me to keep running because it’s good for me and gets me out of the house.

“It’s good for me and if I can do it for charity then it’s even better. Any way that I can help Andy and the hub out is brilliant. The furthest I have run is 20 miles so I know that I can do this, but it’s going to be hard."

Jason has set up a fundraising page in order to raise money for the Veterans Hub who are under financial pressure and on the brink of closure.

The Veterans Hub was set up around eight years ago as a community project, with the intent of providing a safe and secure location for veterans and their families to come together in an environment that would enable them to socialise in a non-clinical setting in order to provide peer to peer support for each other.

Jason has previously completed the London Marathon back in 2005, as well as various half marathons in Bridport, Bournemouth, Weymouth and Portland half marathon.

At the time of writing Jason has raised £58 of a £10,000 target.

If you would like to donate to Jason’s efforts, visit: https://donorbox.org/jason-takes-on-the-portland-marathon.