Shrewsbury grandmother to run first London Marathon at 70

Jan Dodd will run the marathon for the first time alongside her daughter, Emma Goss

A grandmother is preparing for her first London Marathon at the age of 70 to raise awareness of a sight loss condition.

Jan Dodd, from Shrewsbury, was diagnosed with macular degeneration a decade ago and struggles to read and make out faces and road signs.

She said she found diagnosis of the condition "frightening" at first.

She is also raising money for charity by taking part in the 23 April event.

The grandmother of four will run the marathon alongside her daughter, Emma Goss.

"I started training last October," Mrs Dodd said. "We got involved with the Park Runs in Shrewsbury so at first I could only run about 10 yards but now I can do the full 5km without stopping.

"I'm running about three times a week, a couple of short runs and then a long run once a week and building up the long run gradually.

"The longest I've been is about 15 miles so hopefully next week I'll do 17 miles."

Raise awareness

Mrs Dodd first noticed problems with her eyesight when one letter in a word "would be a bit fainter than the rest" when reading.

She was diagnosed with macular degeneration, a condition which affects the middle part of your vision and affects about 1.5m people in the UK.

The Macular Society said it was the biggest cause of sight loss in the UK and there was currently no treatment.

Mrs Dodd said the charity was "amazing" and had supported her since her diagnosis, "so I thought I would do something to raise awareness and raise some funding as well".

So far, she has raised more than £2,000.

"I'm feeling quite nervous, but excited as well," she said of the marathon. "I just hope I get through it - it might be more of a shuffle."