Vision-impaired Doncaster woman takes on London Marathon in memory of her father

Sharon Maughan, 44, is determined to raise as much as possible for Blind Veterans UK because of the support the charity provided her father for 22 years. Her father passed in January last year and she wants to run the London Marathon in his memory.

Thomas Maughan served in the Royal Air Force as part of National Service in 1953 until 1955. He left the RAF, due to his deteriorating eyesight, as a Leading Aircraftman. Thomas suffered from retinitis pigmentosa, a hereditary disease which slowly causes sight loss. He started receiving help and support from Blind Veterans UK in 1992 until his death last year.

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Sharon said: “Blind Veterans UK did so much for him and he was incredibly involved in the different clubs. He went to their Brighton centre for holidays and he had different types of training including IT and cooking. He was also part of the archery and bowling clubs.

“I’m incredibly grateful for the support they gave my father and felt I needed to give something back.”

Sharon suffers from the same genetic disease as her father. She was registered partially sighted at age 22 and was registered blind in 2008. Before her training, Sharon hadn’t run since she was 17 but she feels so passionately about raising money for Blind Veterans UK by running the London Marathon she has gone back out again.

Sharon first started running with her dog Lochie but soon joined the running club the Doncaster Pacers who are now helping her with training and arranging a guide for the challenge.

Sharon said: “I used to love running and did cross country competitions. It’s good to get back into it and it’s great to run with people from the Doncaster Pacers as you get to meet different people each training night.”

This will be Sharon’s first marathon and she’s aiming to complete the race in under four and a half hours.

To support Sharon as she tackles the London Marathon for Blind Veterans UK in memory of her father, please visit Click here

To find out more about Blind Veterans UK, please visit Click here