In April 2017 I was diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes, an incurable autoimmune disease that means my pancreas stopped producing insulin - and no diabetes isn't caused by eating too much sugar! My life has changed in a number of ways and every day can be battle, but through multiple insulin injections a day to control my blood glucose levels I can lead a pretty normal life and I count myself lucky for that.

Since my diagnosis I have run a couple of half marathons and raised nearly £1000 for Diabetes UK. This year, the half wasn't enough... "Why not turn round and run back to the start?" I thought. (Stupid idea Kirsten!) But here I am, excited and nervous, with a place to run as part of the Diabetes UK team.

Diabetes UK are an amazing charity. Not just providing care and support to people and families affected by diabetes but the charity are also the leaders of the "Fight for Flash" campaign. Because of this campaign, I now have a continuous blood glucose monitor that sits in my arm meaning I no longer have to prick my fingers 8 times a day in order to know my blood glucose reading. I can scan my arm and know within seconds what it is 24/7. It's changed my life (without prescription the cost is £180/month) and I have Diabetes UK to thank for that.

I'd be so grateful if you'd like to make a donation, no matter how small, every penny counts and goes towards helping find a cure and prevention. I'm bloody nervous, but each penny raised means that me and so many others are one step closer to being able to say that "we USED to have type 1 diabetes".

Thank you so much - Kirsten :)

P.S. Apologies for the shameless social media plugs you'll be seeing between now and April xoxo