JOURNAL OF IIMER May 2026 Mike’s European Marathons Spring 2026 update I’ve just returned from running my 39th marathon for Invest In ME Research in European country 35 in Sarajevo, Bosnia. Now entering my 12th year running for the charity, I’ve managed to raise £53K through my European marathon running project, interviewing people with ME in 30 countries that I’ve visited. Sarajevo Marathon is only in it’s 7th year and I lined up with only around 250 runners in warm temperatures (c20c) to run a single lap of the centre and out towards the West of the city with it’s villages and mountainous backdrop. There was a 5 hour cut-off which I needed to be aware of but I got around the course fairly steadily and well within the limit. There were plenty of parts to the race where I didn’t see anyone else on the course and had to ask the police for directions! Sarajevo itself was a wonderful mix of Ottoman and Orthodox architecture with beautiful mosques and churches, historic bridges and lush green hills all around. Full race report and trip pictures: https://www.mikeseumarathons.eu/sarajevo-bosnia.html Next up for me is Reykjavik Marathon on August 22nd where I’m hoping to meet and liaise with ME Felag, the country’s ME Association to help raise money and awareness. I’ve been to Iceland 10 years ago with my wife and enjoyed doing the ‘Gold Circle’ and exploring Reykjavik. I never thought I’d be back to run a marathon there! I’ve heard positive things about the race and the cool temperatures will be a welcome gift given all the hot races I’ve been through in Southern Europe. From what I understand, the course is relatively flat with often windy conditions and hopefully some stunning scenery to keep my brain occupied. Although Iceland has a small population, my understanding is that there are quite a few people struggling with ME and that the Icelandic ME Association has been doing some excellent work in supporting them. I think they have had runners in the marathon fundraising before and I’m aware that they have some representatives coming to the Invest In ME Conference which I look forward to attending for the first time in 8 years. I’m working on plans for next year, it’s proving tricky as there aren’t many countries left in Europe to go but I do still have Albania, Moldova, Turkey, Kosovo, Vatican, Faeroe Islands, Wales, Scotland and England(!) left to go. After that, I have a few more on my ‘bucket-list’ with a mix of big and small races -one of which includes a race that runs through Switzerland, Austria and Germany around Lake Constance which looks awesome. I may also run a few more local half-marathons to me and see if I can raise the profile of ME in local media which I’ve done before a few times. If you’d like to sponsor me and help fund biomedical research then please visit: https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/mikeseumarathons Invest in ME Research Page 18 of 35
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