Botham’s daughter supports JDRF

The daughter of cricket legend Sir Ian Botham is stepping up her training for an epic African adventure this summer with JDRF.

Becky Botham-Armstrong, who lives with type 1 diabetes, has accepted the challenge of scaling Africa’s biggest mountain, and returning home with the satisfaction that no challenge is ever impossible.

The JDRF Climb Kilimanjaro trek is taking place from 14-24 June this year. Becky will be joined by 19 other people that live with type 1 diabetes – the largest team ever of people that live with the condition to take part in this challenge.

Fully trained medical staff will be on hand to assist during the trek, who will provide specialist advice on training tips, equipment and nutrition.

Becky was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes when she was nine years old. She is now a mother to two small children. Speaking about her training regime for the Kilimanjaro challenge, she said: “There’s a hill behind my parents’ house and I’m walking up that as often as I can. It’s certainly not easy balancing the demands of motherhood with the demands of my training. But I’m enjoying feeling fitter each week.”

She added: “So many people don’t understand type 1 diabetes and don’t appreciate that it’s a serious and complex condition. The fact that this Kilimanjaro trip will be a chance to inform people about the condition is helping to keep me motivated throughout my training.”

You can donate online to support Becky’s challenge.