Following in his father's footsteps, 9 year old Samuel Stewart-Ball is set to cycle 200 miles from Conwy Castle to Cardiff Castle in epic type 1 diabetes fundraiser.

9 year old Samuel Stewart-Ball from Conwy will cycle 200 miles in a 3 day epic challenge from Conwy Castle to Cardiff Castle this summer for JDRF, the type 1 diabetes charity. Following in his father’s footsteps, Sam was inspired to take on the challenge after his dad completed the challenge in one day last summer raising over £4,000 for JDRF. Sam hopes to raise £1000 to support vital type 1 diabetes research.

Talking of his motivation to take part on this challenge, Sam said “My 6 year old sister Isabelle has type 1 diabetes and has had it since she was 4 years old. She has to have her finger pricked all the time so that her bloods can be monitored, to stop her having a Hypo or Hyper and she has to have at least 4 insulin injections per day as well. Hopefully, if I can raise some money it will go towards helping my sister and others just like her with Type 1 Diabetes.”

The 400,000 people in the UK who live with type 1 diabetes – including 29,000 children – rely on multiple insulin injections or pump infusions every day just to stay alive. A child diagnosed with type 1 diabetes at the age of five faces up to 19,000 injections and 50,000 finger prick blood tests by the time they are 18. The condition is not linked to lifestyle factors.

Sam, who is a junior member of Rhos On Sea Cycle Club, will be starting his epic adventure ride on the 1st August with his dad and uncle, covering approximately 70 miles a day.  Sam’s  mum Emma, sister Isabelle and other family members as well as the JDRF team will be welcoming the team into Cardiff on Friday 3rd August.

Miranda Burdett, Wales Regional Fundraiser at JDRF, said: “We are delighted that Sam is following in his dad’s footsteps and taking on the Conwy Castle to Cardiff Castle challenge this year.  We are very grateful for  the support of families like the Stewart-Balls  as without their support we would not be able to support life-changing research into type 1 diabetes which is a serious and complex condition. We wish Sam the best of luck for his training and look forward to welcoming him into Cardiff on the day of the challenge!”.

To sponsor Sam, please visit https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/duncan-stewart-ball1