PHYSIOTHERAPIST Jane Freebody knows only too well the importance of Oxford’s Town and Gown 10k for a muscular dystrophy charity.

She is part of a team at the Oxford Muscle and Nerve Centre at the city’s John Radcliffe Hospital, which works with hundreds of people with the muscle-wasting condition.

Sufferers travel from across the country to see the team for help and advice with the condition.

The Town and Gown 10k through Oxford on Sunday, May 11, is organised by the Muscular Dystrophy Campaign and it is hoped will this year hit a record-breaking £150,000.

The run, which is supported by the Oxford Mail, is in its 33rd year and starts and finishes in Parks Road, Oxford.

Ms Freebody said: “I am the only physiotherapist who does this job here. We run what we call a multidisciplinary clinic.

“I would say at the moment I get perhaps a new patient every week.

“Because we are specialised in what we do a lot of people come here as there isn’t the same level of knowledge in other areas.

“One of the big things I do is find people services they can access in their area and put them in touch with people closer to home.”

The Muscular Dystrophy Campaign networks and provides training for specialist neuromuscular physiotherapists across the UK.

Ms Freebody said: “Town and Gown is a great way of raising money and for raising awareness of the issues of muscular dystrophy.

“One of the great things about it being in Oxford is that we have everything here.

“There is the science and research base, we have doctors who are internationally recognised for their knowledge of muscular dystrophy, and services on offer here at the hospital for people who really need it.

“Everything here is linked.”

More than 2,000 poeple have signed up for the big day, which organisers hope will attract 4,000 runners.