The British Heart Foundation’s research has given us machines that can restart hearts, the ability to fix arteries in tiny babies, the power to give someone a heart they weren’t born with, and so much more.

Although we have made great strides in solving many big problems in the past, heart and circulatory diseases are still the world’s biggest killers. Right now, 930,000 people in the North West are living with the daily burden of a heart or circulatory disease and sadly every 9 hours, someone dies from one of these diseases in Manchester alone.

There are so many things we need to change. The fact there is no effective treatment for vascular dementia. The fact that women are twice as likely to have a heart attack misdiagnosed. That there’s no cure for heart failure. That we still can’t save every child born with congenital heart disease, or give every victim of stroke the best chance of recovery.

But here’s the good news – research works, and so does fundraising. When we fund research properly and put our trust in science, breakthroughs follow.

Every step forward we’ve made has been thanks to a huge collective effort and that’s what taking part in the Manchester Marathon for the BHF is all about.

We can promise all supporters a BHF Champions technical top, bespoke training support from our world-class running coaches, a fundraising pack and regular emails to keep you on track and of course, the best cheer squad on the day.

Sign up to the Manchester Marathon with the BHF today: www.bhf.org.uk/manchestermarathon