Fight for Sight urges London Marathon runners to go the extra mile

Fight for Sight, the leading UK charity dedicated to funding pioneering research to prevent sight loss and treat eye disease, is calling on runners who have secured a place in the 2012 Virgin London Marathon to support the charity and help make sight loss a thing of the past.

Marathon participants who choose to run for Fight for Sight will be raising funds to support vital research into the prevention and treatment of blindness and eye disease.

Julian Jackson, Director of Development and Marketing at Fight for Sight said: “We have an incredible team of people taking on the London Marathon this year who are all extremely passionate about helping our work to bring an end to sight loss – and we’d love to welcome some new runners on board!

'Whether you’re an experienced athlete or taking on your first marathon, Fight for Sight will provide training tips and fundraising support to help you on your way – and you’ll be bringing hope to millions of people living with sight loss with every step you take.”

For more information on how to run for Fight for Sight, please contact events@fightforsight.org.uk or call 0207 264 3900.

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Notes to Editors:
1. For more information, please contact Lizzie Webster, Media and Communications Officer at Fight for Sight on 0207 264 3904 or at lizzie@fightforsight.org.uk
2. Fight for Sight is the leading UK charity dedicated to funding pioneering research to prevent sight loss and treat eye disease.
3. Fight for Sight is funding research at leading universities and hospitals throughout the UK. Major achievements to date include:
• saving the sight of thousands of premature babies through understanding and controlling levels of oxygen delivery
• restoring sight by establishing the UK Corneal Transplant Service enabling over 52,000 corneal transplants to take place
• providing the funding for the research leading to the world’s first clinical trial for choroideremia
• bringing hope to children with inherited eye disease by helping to fund the team responsible for the world’s first gene therapy clinical trial
• identifying new genes responsible for keratoconusand Nance-Horan syndrome
4. Fight for Sight’s current research programme is focusing on preventing and treating age-related macular degeneration, diabetic retinopathy, glaucoma and cataract. We are also funding research into the causes of childhood blindness and a large number of rare eye diseases.