In February 2004 Katy Newitt and Nicola Wilson paired up as a running duo. Many people have running partners, the difference here was that Katy is visually impaired and Nicola’s role was to act as her “eyes”. They discovered that not only did they run at a similar pace but they also had a great deal of fun.
These gentle giggle filled runs of about 3km prompted an idea in both their heads of running the London Marathon. The question then arose of which charity organization to run it for.
Katy suffers from a hereditary genetic disease called Retinitis Pigmentosa. RP affects 1 in 3000 people worldwide. At the time of diagnosis Katy was told that there was no cure and no hope of a cure. Despite this knowledge the pair decided to investigate the benefit of running the marathon for Retinitis Pigmentosa.
Katy called The British Retinitis Pigmentosa Society. She was astounded to discover that in the passing 20 years since her diagnosis, phenomenal steps had been taken towards finding a cure for Retinitis Pigmentosa. This was all the persuasion the pair needed.
That was 10 months ago. In October of 2004 a small group of the pair's friends were so inspired that they came together to form “Foresight” whose aim it is to raise funds for research into a cure for Retinitis Pigmentosa and to raise awareness. To date, the group has enjoyed enormous success. Not only have they raised a significant amount of funds but they have also established a flourishing education arm and several schools have already benefited from Foresight's inspired workshops.
