Bristol woman running London Marathon for visually impaired

Tracey Gait said she wants to raise awareness of hidden visual impairments

A visually impaired woman is running in the London Marathon to raise awareness of the condition and other invisible disabilities.

Tracey Gait, 43, from Bristol has had problems with her eyesight since she was a toddler, because of astigmatism.

By being public about her own impairment she hopes to "raise more awareness of disability in society".

Ms Gait said many friends were unaware of her impairment until she started fundraising for Sunday's marathon.

Ms Gait will join the team running in aid of the charity Sense

"I have to continually adjust how I do things because of my sight, such as using magnifying glasses to read or taking photos of things on my phone and enlarging them," she said.

"Most people in my life did not realise I had a visual impairment before I started talking about it when fundraising for the marathon."

'Impressive challenge'

So far, Ms Gait has raised £1,726 for charity Sense.

Richard Kramer, its chief executive, said: "We're delighted to have Tracey joining us as a member of Team Sense.

"In addition to the impressive challenge of training for a marathon, Tracey is also doing great work raising awareness of sensory impairments.

"The money Tracey is raising for Sense will enable us to support more families and people living with complex disabilities."