Luton wheelchair athlete to compete in mini London Marathon

A wheelchair athlete from Luton will be competing in Sunday's mini London Marathon.

Katie Connolly, 16, will be racing in her first mini London Marathon on Sunday, October 3, along with two other athletes from the Bedford and County Athletic Club's Wheelchair Racing section.

The 16-year-old will be joined by Varun Bandi, 16, from Flitwick, and Jade Olulode, 16, from Marston Moretaine.

The relatively new section of the club has made great strides since its formation a few years ago.

Regular coaches Zoe Luscombe and Michael Blunt run sessions for the athletes every Sunday morning at the Bedford International Athletics Stadium.

Varun competed in the mini marathon two years ago and finished third in his age group, Jade and Katie will be racing in their first.

Jade is a recent newcomer to the Saturday Bedford Park runs, whilst Katie only took up wheelchair racing earlier this year and competed in her first ever track race at Biggleswade last week.