A WOMAN who grew up in Ledbury pounded the routes through some of London’s most iconic parks to raise funds for Diabetes UK, last Sunday.

But, given her family's well-known interest in rare fungi, she might have been forgiven for looking out for interesting autumn specimens on the way round.

Katie Whipp chose the diabetes charity because her mum and step father, who still live in Ledbury, both suffer from the illness.

Miss Whipp joined 16,000 runners last weekend at the Royals Parks Half Marathon, which took place on October 9, across the four Royal Parks in the capital.

Miss Whipp, aged 30, who now lives and works in London, was inspired to compete and raise money for Diabetes UK after watching both her mother Sheila and stepdad George Spence cope with Type 2 diabetes.

She added that "as a keen athlete anyway" she had been training hard and wanted to push herself to a personal best of under 1hour 46 minutes.

Katie said: “I see the struggle my mum and George face. It is like an invisible condition and can be very hard to live with at times. It is with you constantly and is something you need to think about every day."

They are quite a well-known family, locally.

In 1996, when Katie was ten, she made headline news when she discovered a rare earth star fungus during a forage near Cradley.

Before then, the last previous recorded sighting had been in Norfolk, back in 1925.

In 2006, Mr and Mrs Spence were recognised by the British Mythological Society for their work in raising awareness of fungi in the local area.

And, as reported in 2008, in the Ledbury Reporter, Mrs Spence famously found a rare Lacquered Bracket fungi, which had not been seen in Worcestershire since 1987 before she came across it at Malvern Wells, "during a leisurely stroll".

Last Sunday's half-marathon was not a leisurely stroll for her daughter, but while Miss Whipp missed out on a personal best, she completed the course in a highly creditable time of 2 hours, 4 minutes and 31 seconds.

Now another goal, that of fund-raising, needs to be reached.

Miss Whipp said: "I want to raise more than £500, but I also want to raise awareness of diabetes and the importance of the right care to help manage the condition.”

So far she has raised £215, and she is appealing for local support.

Siobhan Clifford, Diabetes UK West Midlands Fundraiser, said: “We are so grateful to Katie for taking on this run and raising awareness of diabetes and vital funds for Diabetes UK.

“Every penny raised will help us to support the millions of people living with diabetes in the UK so please give generously to back Katie and support their amazing effort.”

To sponsor Miss Whipp, visit www.justgiving.com/fundraising/Katie-Whipp