A BRAVE youngster suffering with a rare and incurable brain condition is running a 3km race at the weekend to raise awareness.

Five-year-old Middlesbrough schoolgirl Missy Russell has been diagnosed with a little-known condition which sees her brain going through a hole in the skull and resting on the spinal cord.

The result is a compression of the brain stem which causes loss of control of the limbs, dizziness, pressure headaches and other problems.

The youngster is set to run the Tees Pride 3k Fun Run on Sunday(August 31) to raise awareness of Chiari Malformation and Syringomyelia and to fundraise for the Ann Conroy Trust, a charity which offers support to sufferers.

She will be joined by big brother Jason, seven, who dotes on Missy and has even given up all the things his sister can’t do such as jumping on trampolines and bouncy castles which he calls their “pact”.

Mother Kirsty Clough, 31, from Gresham, said: “I am in awe of them – they are wonderful little people and there is no way I could be this strong without them.

“They provide so much energy and love and make everything so easy and so wonderful. Dealing with this condition that Missy has isn’t a problem because of how both my children are are.”

The family will take part in the race along with members of a regular walking group recently set up in Gresham by Councillor Tracy Harvey which meets in Ayresome Gardens on Thursdays at 3pm.

They have been sponsored for their places by the advice service Streets Ahead for Information on Parliament Road, who have also produced sponsor forms for the family.

Anyone wanting to sponsor them can find forms in most businesses on and around Parliament Road and Gresham Road in Gresham.

Entry for the 10k is £16 or £14 for affiliated runners, with the 3k priced at £7. Family entry is £24 for two adults and a maximum of three children.

Online entries for the 10k close at midnight on Thursday (tonight) but runners can still enter by signing up in person at the Neptune Centre, Berwick Hills, until noon on Saturday, August 30. No entries will be accepted on the day for the 10k, people can enter the 3k but are advised to get there early.

For more information visit runmiddlesbrough.com or call 01642-727546.