I'm running my first ever half marathon to raise money for Diabetes UK. Our daughter Freya was diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes when she was 11. Due to an auto-immune reaction the insulin producing cells in Freya's pancreas were permanently shut down, which means every time she eats any carbohydrates (ie almost every food) she has to put insulin into her body in order to bring her blood glucose down to the correct level. Freya copes with this amazingly and without complaint, but it's a lot and it is relentless.

Diabetes UK funds research working towards a cure for Type 1 diabetes, the aim being to work out how to either restart or replace those insulin producing cells in the pancreas. This would utterly transform the lives of those living with the disease (a vast proportion of whom are diagnosed in childhood). Anything you feel able to donate would be so gratefully received!