Taking up the challange

We are Clive Tyrell (aged 55) and Larraine Reed (aged 51), and on Sunday 26 April 2009 we will be taking part in the Flora London Marathon 2009 on behalf of Sense, the leading national charity that supports and campaigns for children and adults who are deafblind. This will be our first marathon and it promises to be an experience we will never forget. The reason we choose to take part on behalf of Sense is because I (Clive) am registered blind, and Larraine is registered deafblind. I will be guided by Jon Medcraft from the National Events Team at Sense, whilst Larraine will be guided by her friend Sylvia Carr.

We live together in the small town of Egham in Surrey, which is perfect for our marathon training as there are some fantastic places to go for long walks whilst enjoying the countryside. We regularly walk to Windsor along the canal paths to keep fit, and like nothing more than taking a picnic with us and a flask of hot soup! Larraine also keeps fit taking part in regular line and belly dancing classes, together with Pilate sessions. In our spare time we also enjoy visiting the theatre in Windsor for the musicals they run throughout the year.

Whilst we are both looking forward to the London Marathon with excitement, there are many challenges that we face over the coming weeks. The main one will come from being surrounded by so many people as we are not used to that in our daily lives. The noise levels and the restricted space that we will encounter will also make things more difficult but we will be relying on our sighted guides to ensure we are kept safe and the event is as enjoyable as possible.

Although we will be facing more challenges than the average runner, we are so excited about taking part in the London Marathon. We have watched the event from a young age and have always wanted to take part so it is fantastic that we will finally be living our dream on the 26 April!

If you would like to sponsor us and help change the lives of deafblind children and adults throughout the UK, please visiting our fundraising page: http://www.justgiving.com/wonderwomanandblindman.