04 Apr Local and Witham woman to run London Marathon
Nicola Bennett, 43, from Kelvedon, Essex and originally from Witham, is preparing to run in this year’s Virgin London Marathon on Sunday 22nd April 2018.
She is running the London Marathon for the first time, to raise funds for Coeliac UK, the national charity for people with coeliac disease who is celebrating its 50th Anniversary this year. Nicola decided to run for Coeliac UK to raise awareness to help her son Daniel, 8, who was diagnosed when he was 3, and her daughter Emilia, 5, who is gluten intolerant.
Coeliac disease is a serious autoimmune condition caused by a reaction to gluten, a protein found in wheat, barley and rye. People diagnosed with coeliac disease must maintain a strict gluten free diet for the rest of their life if they are to avoid very serious complications such as osteoporosis, infertility and although rare, small bowel cancer.
1 in 100 people in the UK has coeliac disease but only 24% of those with the condition have been diagnosed. There are an estimated half a million people in the UK who have the condition yet don’t know it. The charity’s online assessment can be found at https://www.coeliac.org.uk/is-it-coeliac-disease/ for anyone concerned about their symptoms and would like to find out more.
