Jamie’s marathon effort for charity

Jamie chose to raise funds for Diabetes UK NI as his sister Julie was diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes when she was five. Initially Jamie wanted to set himself a personal challenge, but he also wanted to raise awareness of diabetes and the charity.

Jamie said: “I would like to take this opportunity to thank all those who took part in the bag pack, spin-a-thon and sponsored walk, and who so willingly collected sponsorship and helped in the lead up to the marathon. The support I have received has really has blown me away. It’s filled me with the confidence that people do actually care and all the kind words, texts and emails have really helped with my training for the marathon. Every donation means a great deal and everyone who contributed to the £4329.75 should be very proud as it’s for a very worthwhile cause.”

He added: “I chose to support Diabetes UK NI as my sister has diabetes and it’s brought about a lot of changes in our family home. It was only when she was diagnosed that we all realised how serious the condition actually is. Diabetes UK NI is a great charity that supports people of all ages living with diabetes in Northern Ireland and I was very proud to wear their running vest as I crossed the finish line.”

Naomi Brown, National Fundraising Assistant for Diabetes UK NI commented “I would like to say a huge thank-you to Jamie for his fantastic efforts in raising so much money for Diabetes UK NI. We rely so heavily on people like Jamie to take on challenges like this to help fund the work that we do. I am delighted that Jamie received so much support with his fundraising events and thank-you to all involved.

“The money raised from Jamie’s challenge will go towards funding research into diabetes, care events including the Children’s and Youth camps, the Careline, information leaflets, awareness raising and campaigning for improved services. I would urge anyone else interested in supporting Diabetes UK to visit our website or call the local office now for information on how they can get involved.”

Diabetes is a serious condition where the amount of glucose in your blood is too high. Insulin controls the levels of glucose in the blood. People with Type 1 diabetes do not produce any insulin. People with Type 2 diabetes may produce some insulin but not enough, or the insulin is not working properly (this is known as insulin resistance). If diabetes is not managed effectively and the blood glucose levels do not stay as close to normal as possible it can lead to long-term complications such as heart disease, stroke, blindness, kidney failure and amputation. Diabetes kills more people in the UK than breast cancer and prostate cancer combined.

Diabetes UK is the charity for people with diabetes, funding £6 million of medical research in 2012 and providing information and support to the 73,500 people living with diabetes in Northern Ireland.