SOME of your lucky readers will have been allocated places in this year's Flora London Marathon on April 18. I want to ask those runners who have not yet decided which charity they wish to run for, to consider running for the British Diabetic Association (BDA).

Diabetes affects around 3pc of the UK's adult population.

There are 20,000 young people under 20 with diabetes in the UK, and the incidence of diabetes in children under five has doubled in the last 10 years. All these children have to have daily insulin injections to stay alive, before they can get on with the important business of "living".

BDA is the leading diabetes charity in the UK, supporting all people with diabetes. Among our many activities we organise holidays and family weekends for children with diabetes and their families. BDA Careline offers confidential information on all aspects of diabetes. It is open from 9am-5pm, Monday-Friday, on 0171 636 6112. We also fund diabetes research, spending over £4.5 million each year on 200 research projects, which we hope will lead to a cure for diabetes.

Marathon runners who would like to support the BDA, should contact Elizabeth Clement on 0171 462 2722, for a Marathon Runner's Pack and an invitation to our pre-Marathon pasta party.

Please help us to make this year's Flora London Marathon the BDA's most successful Marathon ever!

Paul Streets

Chief Executive

British Diabetic Association

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