A PARTIALLY-sighted woman with severe asthma is running the London Marathon to repay a guide dog charity for the 'life-changing support' it has given her.

Francesca Balon, of Woodlands Avenue in Pennington, Leigh, will tackle the daunting 26-mile course on April 23 hand in hand with guide runner Sarah McDermott, from British Blind Sport.

The 20-year-old has set up a JustGiving page in a bid to raise £2,000 for the Guide Dogs for the Blind Association.

She says the charity has been a godsend after being born with a range of hereditary eye conditions.

Francesca suffers from aniridia, nystagmus, glaucoma, photophobia and hypoplasia of the macula.

But she now leads a full and happy life after the charity helped her through tough times in the past, including the death of her dad Stephen and battles against anorexia, anxiety and bullying at school.

She said: "I am running to support Guide Dogs so the charity can continue to provide life-changing support to others like me.

"I owe the charity so much. It has been amazing for me.

“A lot of people do not know about the full services the charity gives to children and young people and think it just does work with guide dogs.

“It does not receive as much funding as other charities so I want to raise as much money as possible to help Guide Dogs help other people like me."

The criminology and criminal justice degree student at the University of Central Lancashire has been building up her fitness for the London Marathon, which has not been easy with her asthma problems.

She joined a running club in Warrington last year and has recently completed half marathons in Wrexham and Wilmslow.

Francesca said: "When I first started training I couldn’t run for five minutes without taking my inhaler.

“My gym instructor and the running club has been brilliant in improving my fitness.

“When I am in pain while running I remember that I am doing it for Guide Dogs, which drives me on.”

To make a donation for Francesca's marathon challenge visit bit.ly/2nJlHsB.

For more information about the Guide Dogs for the Blind Association go to guidedogs.org.uk.