Doddington woman raises thousands for Diabetes UK as she prepares for London Marathon

The 26-miles will be dedicated to Shay’s chosen charity, Diabetes UK, in the hopes of raising awareness of technology available for those with diabetes.

Shay, who is running alongside work colleague John Grey, said: "We’ve never done a marathon before and through work we got offered some charity places at the marathon from Diabetes UK.

"Because of what we do and our work we thought it would be great to raise awareness and to raise money for an amazing charity.

"People think it’s funny because I’m just not a runner but I have been training hard and hopefully I’ll make it round the track in one piece.”

After securing her place in January, Shay – who has never done a run close to this – has been training hard to succeed on the day.

Already the team, who work for a company helping those with diabetes, have raised more than £7,500.

By the end of the run on April 23, they are hoping to have raised £9,000.

To draw in an audience, Shay and John will be running in costumes that look like diabetes technology sensors, which CustomXpress in Wooler have printed on to share their message.

Shay added: “The diabetes technology sensors is not available to everyone and we want to raise awareness as many people have to finger prick several times a day to manage their glucose levels.

"We want to raise awareness of the technology so people can ask for access to it.”

To donate, visit: https://2023tcslondonmarathon.enthuse.com/pf/dexcoms-midnight-runners.