Rochdale Online reporter taking part in Great Manchester Run to raise money for Save Samantha appeal

A Rochdale Online journalist is taking part in the Great Manchester Run on Sunday 20 May to raise money for the Save Samantha appeal.

This will be the fourth time Michelle Kight, 26, of Rochdale, will have taken part in the 10k race, although it will be her first running for a cause.

She said: “Samantha is one of the bravest people I've ever met - I first met her when running an article about her for Rochdale Online for her first operation. Sam is only a few years older than me, and yet she has faced numerous health problems. Speaking with her before the first surgery, I remember I had barely hung up the phone before bursting into tears at my desk. Her story touched me on a level that I could identify with, having had two life-changing surgeries when I was 20 and 21. That said, mine paled in comparison compared to what Samantha was going through.”

When Michelle was 19, she was diagnosed with femoral acetabular impingement (FAI or hip impingement), bony overgrowths in both hips which restricted her movement. She underwent two surgeries in September 2012 and March 2013 to address the problem, with the possibility of the condition returning later in life.

She explained: “The ironic thing is, it’s common in athletes. As a child, I definitely did not fit that box, and I’d only started taking an interest in running and working out about nine months before I was diagnosed with FAI.  

“It was hard for me, because whilst I didn’t have to learn to walk again, I had to learn to take my time. It was difficult to see a future that was both pain-free and one where I returned to my newly found love of running.”

When completing her dissertation in 2014, Michelle, a former human biology undergraduate student, discovered a competition to choose six people to take part in the race, being trained by running legend, Paula Radcliffe.

“I decided to enter it on a whim, because I’d run a cross country race in the Cotswolds with my auntie in December the previous year, and figured it couldn’t be worse than that as it was around the same distance. I’d also taken part in a couple of 5k Parkruns with her in Cheltenham.

“I didn’t think I’d actually get chosen, but I was one of the six ‘Radcliffe’s Runners’ and that first year, I ran for me. I wasn’t a member of a club, and I didn’t raise any money for charity, but it was extremely emotional. The next two years, I was a member of the Rochdale Harriers and ran wearing club colours, but I haven’t renewed my membership yet for this year.

“I’m not fast by any means, but I just aim to finish a race. My 10k PB is currently 01:02:03, but I doubt I’ll break it because I’ve definitely not been running anywhere near as much as I was a few years ago.”

Michelle, who holds an MA in Multimedia Journalism, continued: “I’d been thinking about this for a while, but as Sam had taken some time to reflect on rediscovering herself after such a hard year, I wasn’t sure how to go about doing it. I’ve told her team [the friends who help run the appeal page], but I really wanted to surprise her because she really is one of the loveliest people I’ve met. She's had to put her career on hold and still be a mum to her children whilst she manages her conditions, which can't be easy for anyone to do.

“Last week though, Sam had more news that she is coming to terms with, which she’ll share in her own time, but that really cemented what I’d been thinking. Whilst I’ve reported on her circumstances for the past year, and other people’s fundraising for her, I wanted to do more because no-one should have to be in the position she is in. No-one should have to spend so much money on surgery to save their life because of medical conditions, let alone cover the extortionate costs that come with going abroad.”

Michelle added: “I would like to think that everyone who can would support Sam in any way they can, because we’d all hope for the same if that was us.”

Rochdale Online has closely followed Samantha’s journey since April 2017, when we broke the news of her desperate race to raise £150,000 for lifesaving neurosurgery after her brain and spinal cord were being crushed under the weight of her own skull.

Following two operations in Washington with a leading surgeon over the summer, psychotherapist and mother-of-two Samantha, 31, revealed the surgeries failed to stop her neck from dislocating, and she now requires a third operation which will further restrict her movement, estimated to cost in the region of £100,000. 

This is on top of a further £50,000 to cover the costs of the most recent operation.

To donate, visit:

https://www.justgiving.com/crowdfunding/michelle-kight