An Ashby-de-la-Zouch man who lives with type 1 diabetes has swapped his regular gym classes for pounding the streets during national lockdown to keep fit and raise money for Diabetes UK.
Matt Wells, 28, (pictured) set himself a challenge at the start of 2021 to ensure he kept fit and active and to raise money to support the Diabetes UK's vital work.
Matt, a fitter at Rolls-Royce in Derby, said: “My January 100k challenge kind of came out of nowhere. I’m not a regular runner, although I do like most sports and generally keeping active. Since my regular spin classes were cancelled, I thought running would be a good substitute.
“Then I thought - why not fundraise too and help a charity that has helped me so much.”
Matt was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes, 15 years ago on a holiday in Cyprus. He had lost a lot of weight, very quickly. After his diagnosis, Matt says he has coped thanks to the support of family, friends and amazing doctors and nurses and Diabetes UK.
Diabetes UK East Midlands fundraiser Charlotte Wright said: "Last year we saw demand for our services reach record levels, while our own funding was significantly impacted. This year is still going to be very challenging and, more so than ever, people with diabetes need us, but we need your support to be able to continue fighting their corner.
“We want to thank Matt. Without the help of generous supporters like you, we simply would not be able to offer support to the thousands of people with diabetes contacting our helpline, to campaign to keep people with diabetes safe in the workplace, or to invest in vital research – taking us a step closer to our vision of a world where diabetes can do no harm.”
You can sponsor Matt on his Just Giving page.
