A woman from Basingstoke is running the Virgin Money London Marathon on 23 April 2017 to raise funds for Diabetes UK.
Emma Merritt, is running the marathon because she wants to raise awareness after watching her 4-year-old nephew, Alfie, cope with Type 1 diabetes.
Emma, a mother of two, has been training hard for the event and said: “Alfie has to have insulin administered for all of his meals; to begin with, this was done via 4 injections a day. However, since April, Alfie has had an insulin pump, which is a device he is connected to 24 hours a day that continuously administers his insulin. It’s been hard to watch him go through this and that’s why I wanted to do my bit to help by running the Marathon.”
Emma said: “Last January, I couldn't run a minute without stopping, but in October, I entered the Basingstoke Half Marathon (which is in the top 10 hardest half marathons in the country as it is so hilly) and completed it in 2hrs 3 minutes. That was it – I caught the bug and then found out I had been successful in the ballot for this year’s marathon. Having gone and supported friends and family that have previously run the London marathon, I know what a brilliant day it is and I'm really looking forward to it.”
The London Marathon will sees dozens of Team Diabetes UK runners take to the streets to run the iconic 26.2 mile course.
Tanya Richardson, Diabetes UK Regional Fundraising manager, said: “The London Marathon is an amazing event. We’d like to say a big thank you to Emma for her support. Together with the rest of Team Diabetes UK they will raise vital funds to help people living with diabetes. Every penny raised will help us to support the 4.5 million people diagnosed with diabetes in the UK so please give generously to back Emma and support her amazing effort.”
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