I am running the Royal Parks Half Marathon for JDRF, the type 1 diabetes charity, on 9 October 2022. Having completed the Hackney Half in May 2022 and raising £400 for Diabetes UK, I realised that I wanted to do it all over again.

I was diagnosed with type 1 in August 2015, when I was 17. Since then, I've been lucky enough to access some of the world's most innovative diabetes technology: I now use an Omnipod insulin pump and the Freestyle Libre 2 flash glucose monitor, and when I was diagnosed, I was manually injecting and pricking my finger. The technology has come so far, and in researching to cure, prevent and treat type 1 diabetes, JDRF has actively bettered the lives of type 1s across the world.

When I was first diagnosed, I was given my Rufus the Teddy Bear by JDRF in the hospital. I was so weak that I could barely stand up, so if I went back in a little time machine and told my 17-year-old self that at 24, I'd be able to run a Half Marathon, I'd have barely believed it. But I did do it, and I'll do it again. Any and all donations are welcome, big or small.