On April 28th 2019, I’ll be running the London Marathon for the first (and likely the last) time of my life. I am not doing this to solve a midlife crisis or because I relish self-inflicted torture, but because I see it as an opportunity to raise funds on behalf of JDRF, a charity my family and I have been supporting ever since our daughter Rose was diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes two years ago.
T1 diabetes is an autoimmune condition which destroys the insulin producing cells in the pancreas, causing high level of glucose in the blood, which may damage nerves and blood vessels and the organs they supply. This condition affects 400,000 people in the UK, and incidence is growing by about 4% each year, particularly in children under five. There is no known cure for it and it creates a heavy burden on the lives of those affected by it as well as their families.

JDRF funds research to cure, treat and prevent type 1, and gives support and a voice to people with type 1 and their families.