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On the 23rd of April 2023 I will be attempting to run the London Marathon. This event falls exactly 5 years since I was diagnosed with Type 1 Diabetes. I will be looking to take on the ultimate challenge of running 26.2 miles to raise money and awareness for JDRF charity. 

Finding out I had diabetes was one of the scariest and most challenging things I’ve ever had to face. Overnight my life changed dramatically. I had to adapt and learn everything that is required to live with this condition in a short space of time. 

There is still a lot of confusion and misconception surrounding diabetes. Type 1 is an autoimmune condition where your immune system attacks and destroys the insulin producing cells in your pancreas. Insulin is needed to live and without it your blood sugar will rise to dangerous levels causing major damage to your organs and even death. Type 1 diabetics require accurate insulin injections with every meal containing carbohydrates or sugars to keep blood sugar levels within a safe range. 

Too much insulin can cause blood sugar levels to drop too low causing hypoglycaemia and not enough insulin means blood sugar will rise too high, known as hyperglycaemia. Both of which are life threatening and as such must be managed carefully. This is a condition that never gives you a day off and has to be monitored 24 hours a day, 7 days a week!

At the start of this year, I started to take my fitness more seriously, taking up a few forms of exercise including walking, running, cycling and resistance training. This change in lifestyle has been fundamental in managing my blood sugar control and maintaining a good HBA1c (average blood sugar over a 3-month period). Any form of exercise has to be carefully planned for, aerobic exercise (walking, running, cycling) causes blood sugar levels to drop and anaerobic exercise (weights, resistance training) can cause blood sugar to rise. 

Running a marathon will be a huge challenge in itself both physically and mentally, but what also makes it more difficult is maintaining "in range" blood sugar for the duration of the run. I am looking to focus the next 6 months into training, nutrition and everything that is required to complete this challenge, and I look forward to it.

I want to use this opportunity to raise awareness for type 1 diabetes which only accounts for 8% of all diabetics in the UK, as well as raising money for JDRF who are a research charity (to cure, treat and prevent type 1). It currently affects around 400,000 people in the UK and a person with type 1 will have around 65,000 injections and measure their blood sugar more than 80,000 times in their lifetime.

I have received a lot of support and guidance over the last few years from my health care professionals and this is my way of giving something back. I would really love it if you could support me on this journey in completing this challenge, any donations would be really appreciated in helping me reach my target. I will be looking to post regular updates on how my training is going over the coming months.

Thank you for your time – Nick :)

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