I am thrilled to have been selected to run the 2024 London Marathon as a part of Team Diabetes UK.

As well as raising as much money as possible I would also like to raise awareness around what it's really like living with Type 1 Diabetes and would really appreciate it if you can read on all the way to the bottom.

Some of you will know but a lot certainly won't know, that my girlfriend Sophie was diagnosed with Type 1 Diabetes when she was just 9 years old. There are 4.9 million people in the UK that suffer with diabetes and with no current cure, managing diabetes is a constant part of all of their lives and as of right now, always will be.

Before I met Sophie I knew very little about Diabetes and the impact that it had on someone's daily life. As I spent more time with her I began to learn more about the implications of living with the condition. Living with Type 1 Diabetes is so much more than just injecting insulin before mealtimes. Managing blood sugar levels is a constant maths equation where the formula doesn't actually exist. Most essential daily activities unpredictably impact how blood sugars need to be managed making it extremely difficult to stay on top of. These range from eating, exercise, hormone levels, heat, sleep and even stress levels. This many impacting factors makes it all a bit of a guessing game.

The short term impacts if Sophie's blood sugar levels drop too low is a hypo. This can range from feeling really shaky with no energy to uncontrollable fitting. In this case, sugar has to be taken onboard or she will end up needing to be admitted into hospital.

On the flip side, having high blood sugar levels causes headaches, nausea, extreme thirst and over time has much more significant long term affects. This can lead to hospitalisation and/or serious life limiting complications. It's this 24/7 pressure that often means the mental toll of constantly managing blood sugar levels can be greater than the physical one.

I'd like to preface all of that by saying that Soph is an absolute champion when it comes to her diabetes. I am so proud of her and everything that she achieves on a daily basis. She is an incredible source of inspiration for me and I do everything that I can to try and make her Diabetes management as easy as it can be. From late night sugar runs to hypo hugs, realistically speaking the best thing I can do for Sophie and all other Diabetics is to raise as much money as possible for Diabetes UK. This will help contribute to the improvement of Diabetes management technology and ultimately help find a CURE for Diabetes in her lifetime.

This is why I am running the 2024 London Marathon for Team Diabetes UK and is also why I am asking you, all my family, friends and anybody in between to donate as much as you can afford to this amazing cause. Anything you can donate to help me reach my £3000 target will be greatly appreciated.

I'm sure a lot of you will enjoy the amount of pain running a marathon will cause me so that's got to be worth a few quid..

Thanks everyone!