A man inspired by his friend's courage in living with incontinence hopes to break the stigma around the condition by running the Bracknell Half Marathon yesterday (29^th April 2012).

Duncan Gennery, 40, will raise money for the Bladder and Bowel Foundation, the UK’s leading Incontinence charity, that has supported his friend Tim Harvey, 51.

Mr Gennery said: "I hope this will raise awareness, even if just one or two people pick up the phone and get some help that can change their lives, rather than worry about how they are going to get through the day."

Mr Harvey, from Hanworth, said: "Because of the nature of the condition, no-one wants to talk about it. So many people suffer in silence. I think it is absolutely fantastic that Duncan is running to raise awareness."

The friends both work as traffic officers for the Highways Agency.

Mr Harvey suffered from urgency - suddenly needing to go to the toilet - in his 20s and 30s but the problem got worse and he found himself sometimes being unable to make it to a toilet in time, which meant he had to plan his day around where to find a toilet. He also asked others to buy him incontinence pads because he was too embarrassed to buy them himself. He eventually decided he had to overcome his fears to seek help, and saw a GP. He had an operation to increase the size of his bladder but it was not successful and he had a later procedure to remove control of his bladder, so he now wears a catheter.  After suffering from depression, Mr Harvey has dedicated himself to raising awareness of the condition so others do not go so long without seeking help.

He said: "I don't want anyone else to go through what I have.  If just one person seeks help, then that's all I can ask."

Donations can be made to the charity via its website, www.bladderandbowelfoundation.org. Allanda also support this charity via our corporate membership.