Stratford blind runner James Morrison lost bracelet with ‘notch’ charm marking past races in the Greenway area

A BLIND marathon runner is appealing for help to find a precious bracelet.

James Morrison believes he may have lost the personalised wrist band on the way to Bobby’s café on the Greenway, via Trinity Mead and Lucy’s Mill.

The Notch bracelet is made from black and blue sports cord and has seven brightly coloured charms or ‘notches’ on it are from races he has run: London Marathon, Brighton half marathon, plus Gold, Red and Purple Park Runs.

And although it’s not worth a large sum of money, it’s priceless to James, as each notch represents a race James has completed since losing his sight.

A physical symbol of what he’s achieved, it inspires him to keep going.

James, who lives in Stratford with his wife Rhona, explained: “This is one of the few things I can have with me when running to remind me how far I've come and how much I've already achieved, especially if I'm struggling during a race.

“When I was struggling a few weeks ago after ten miles in the Great Scottish Run half marathon, it reassured me I could do it, as I’ve already run a 26-mile marathon.”

James, who also volunteers at park runs, helping with barcode scanning or marshalling, raised more than £3,000 for charity in April, after completing the London Marathon.

He ran the entire 26 miles tethered to his guide Ollie Harrison and the pair finished in 4 hours 19 minutes and 57 seconds.

The bracelet is particularly precious as it was a gift from Ollie, who gave it to him the day before the marathon.

James, who belongs to Stratford and Alcester running clubs and trains at PureGym in Stratford, lost eight stone while training to run the marathon in April and since then has completed several other races and has added the notches to his bracelet.

And he’s just waiting to have it confirmed that he’s qualified for two major races – the London Landmarks half marathon and the London Marathon, both in April next year.

It’s an incredible turnaround for the 44-year-old, who battled despair, depression and suicidal thoughts, after suddenly losing his sight.

His ordeal started after struggling to tell the difference between colours such as black and navy. Specsavers opticians in Stratford urged him to see his GP and he was then referred to hospital for tests.One night he woke to feel the room was shaking and terrifyingly, the whole of his left side shut down leaving him confined to a wheelchair for six weeks.

Eventually, medics diagnosed functional neurological disorder, a problem with how the brain and nervous system work, and told him there was optic nerve damage.At first, James hoped his sight loss was temporary but last year was told it would continue to deteriorate.

He now has no sight at all in one eye and only partial sight in the other.

Rhona said: “The bracelet is very precious to James, so we would be grateful for anyone finding it and returning it.”

James added: “On hard days when I feel like giving up, it reminds me I have a huge team behind me who care a lot about me and it’s a reminder of what I’ve achieved and am still to achieve. It would mean the world to me, to get it back.”

If you find the bracelet contact the Herald at news@stratford-herald.com