Blind law student to run the London Marathon

A 20-year-old member of Lymm Runners who is registered blind is to achieve an ambition on April 23 – taking part in the London Marathon.
Only a year ago, law student Francesca Balon had only run 5k distances – and most of them on a treadmill.
She then made the bold decision to start running outdoors and to aim for not just any marathon but the big one – the London Marathon
The Running Guide by her side for the whole race will be Lymm Runner Sarah McDermott.
Francesca was paired with licensed guide Sarah by UK Athletics who had been running courses locally and which several Lymm Runners had attended.
Club co-chairman Lynn Mosely said: “Having Guide Runners in the club means that we can make running even more inclusive so it’s good development at many levels. As individual runners we benefit from understanding the challenges faced by some other runners; and the club benefits by increasing the diversity of our membership and enabling Guide Runners to run safely”.
Francesca and Sarah have both have been following a tough winter schedule of training runs and races including muddy, stony tracks, large puddles and uneven pavements, often accompanied by wind and torrential rain.
Notable milestones have been completing the High Legh 10K in just over one hour  and the Wilmslow Half Marathon a couple of weeks later, in two hours 17 minutes.
When she tackles the London Marathon Francesca will be running for Guide Dogs for the Blind,. She can be supported  on her fundraising page on  m.virginmoneygiving.com
For more details about UK Athletics and Guide Running go to www.englandathletics.org/guide-runners.
Pictured:  Francesca and Sarah finish the High Legh 10K