In 2023, I took up the opportunity to raise money for Breakthrough T1D by running the London Marathon. It was such an awesome experience that I'm going to be doing it again in 2025! Through the fantastic support of family and friends, nearly £3000 was raised for my 2023 marathon, that directly went to JDRF (now Breakthrough T1D) to help fund their excellent work of finding a cure for Type One diabetes (T1D) and supporting those with the condition in range of ways.

As a family, we are affected by T1D. Back in 2011 our daughter, aged 11 at the time, was diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes. Whilst she has managed this life-changing condition very well with the support of family, friends and the NHS Diabetes team, ultimately, this is a condition that is both physically and mentally wearing. Then, around 4 years ago, in my late 40s, I too was diagnosed by Type 1 diabetes (latent auto-immune diabetes in adults) and now, like my daughter, I need daily insulin (via an insulin pump) to stay alive.

I am used to distance running with T1D but the training definitely doesn't get any easier. It'll all be worth it though come April 21st, especially if I can hit my £3k target. Please donate what you can and be assured that what you give really does spur me on to achieve these tough challenges.

----------------------

The statistics around Type 1 diabetes are quite stark:

Approximately 400,000 people are currently living with type 1 diabetes in the UK, including around 29,000 children.

The number of new diagnoses of type 1 diabetes (also known as the incidence) is increasing by about four per cent each year.

In children under five, the incidence of type 1 diabetes is rising by five per cent each year.

Among children with diabetes in England and Wales, 96 per cent have type 1 diabetes.

Around 85 per cent of people diagnosed with type 1 diabetes have no family history of the condition.

Although it used to be referred to as ‘juvenile diabetes’, around half of newly diagnosed cases of type 1 diabetes are in people over the age of 18.

The UK has one of the highest rates of type 1 diabetes in the world, for reasons that are currently unknown.

A person with type 1 diabetes will have around 65,000 injections and measure their blood glucose more than 80,000 times in their lifetime.

The work done by Breakthrough T1D to allow people to better manage and ultimately, to eliminate Type 1 diabetes is critical to making sure future individuals don't have to go through what both our daughter and me have experienced. They have 3 clear goals around which they coordinate their charitable efforts, namely:

Drive research to sure, treat and prevent type 1 diabetes

Accelerate access to type 1 treatment technologies and medicines

Support people living with type 1 diabetes