Hi All and thanks for visiting my fundraising page.

As part of my ongoing (never-ending) fitness bug (mid-life crisis) I am taking on the London marathon for the first time while I am still the right side of 40. I will be running in aid of The Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation (JDRF) to support the search for a cure for Type 1 diabetes.

Type 1 diabetes occurs in childhood, when a patient’s auto-immune system attacks and permanently destroys the pancreas’ ability to produce insulin – the key hormone which regulates glucose (sugar) levels in the body. As a result the patient must inject insulin several times a day for the rest of their life and carefully control their glucose levels or risk seizures, unconsciousness and even death. While this is avoidable with care, the health implications of having to manually manage your insulin levels for much of your childhood and all of your adult life are profound. The average life expectancy of a Type 1 sufferer is reduced by 15 to 20 years and long term complications include heart disease, vascular disease and kidney damage as well as nerve damage which can lead to limb amputation and blindness. The cause of Type 1 diabetes is unknown, it’s not preventable and currently there is no cure.

Both my wife Val and my brother Graeme live with and manage Type 1 diabetes every day. Beyond that, this is a major health problem with an estimated 350,000 patients with Type 1 diabetes in the UK and the incidence is increasing by 4% every year. If you are still not convinced, Type 1 diabetes and its side effects are so significant that treatment of Type 1 patients is estimated to account for 4.5% of the entire NHS budget!

JDRF is the only charitable organisation in the world with the primary aim of finding a cure for Type 1 diabetes and raises money to drive world-class research across the globe. Over the last 30 years they have funded more than £800 million of research into improving the management of and finding a cure for Type 1 diabetes.

To support this great cause I plan to do two things – to raise £2,500 and to run my first ever marathon in 3 hours 30 minutes which will need fantastic support from you and a lot of dedication to training from me. So sign up and wish me luck!

Thanks for your support!