20/05/2026
Durham County Councils Louise Hodkinson recently organised and ran her own solo marathon from Gateshead to Crook to raise awareness of Tourette Syndrome and support the Tourette’s Action charity, raising an amazing £3,742 to date.
Louise was inspired to do the run after her daughter Freya, who is nine, was diagnosed with Tourette Syndrome after struggling with motor and vocal tics for two years.
Louise has been working hard behind to increase awareness of Tourette Syndrome in her local area and push for better services to support the condition.
As part of her campaign to raise awareness and funds for the Tourette’s Action charity, Louise trained for and ran a marathon from Gateshead to Crook on April 26.
Family and friends supported Louise during the marathon, which she completed in four hours and 32 minutes. “There was a great crowd waiting at Crook, family and friends joining me on the way, and cars beeping – it was amazing,” said Louise.
This month is Tourette’s awareness month which runs from the 15 May to the 15 June. The theme of the month is “No Choice” and asks people to pause, reflect, and recognise a simple truth: People with Tourette syndrome cannot choose their tics – but everyone else can choose how they respond.
Louise has also appeared in the video in support of Tourette’s awareness month which you can view here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=icn_wL_K-Vs
