Actor Will Hall with his niece Sophie Mosley and the custom-made sweatbands she made for him. Photo / Supplied
Actor Will Hall with his niece Sophie Mosley and the custom-made sweatbands she made for him. Photo / Supplied
He's played a doctor on Shortland Street and a keen marathon man on Nothing Trivial - now life is imitating art for Will Hall.
The well-known Kiwi actor has vowed to help kids with Type 1 diabetes by running four half-marathons before he turns 40 - and wants to raise$4444.40 doing it.
Hall - who is the first to admit he's "not built for running" - has just finished a half-marathon and has three more to go in his quest to raise awareness about a new device that can change the lives of children with the condition.
Hall's 5-year-old niece Sophie Mosley has Type 1 diabetes but her life has improved significantly with a new system called Freestyle Libre that shows insulin levels at a glance - without the need for finger prick tests.
The device measures insulin levels via an ultra-fine needle under the skin on the back of the arm. All that is visible is a $2 coin size port that is scanned whenever levels need to be checked.
The device - which is not funded and costs around $130 a fortnight - was a game-changer for his young niece.
Sophie's mother, Hall's sister Jenny Mosley, said the Freestyle Libre meant Sophie's diabetes could be managed better and she had more time with friends at school.
"We also purchased another bluetooth part for the device, which means we can see Sophie's insulin levels on our phones.
"Her teachers also get an alert or her phone at school that tells them if her levels are too low or high."
Hall chose running as a way of raising awareness because it was something that really challenged him.
"Sophie doesn't get to take a break from diabetes so I wanted to do something that I couldn't take a break from either.
Will Hall says the new device has been a game-changer for his niece Sophie Mosley.
"I'm not a natural runner so this is really hard work for me and doing four half-marathons means there is not a lot of downtime in between."
Hall will donate all of the money raised to New Zealand organisation CureKids.
CureKids funds medical research to help improve and extend the lives of New Zealand children living with serious illnesses.
"I have already raised more than $1000 with the first of the four half-marathons, which was in Christchurch.
"It was really hard work. I was pushing over the limits that my poor old legs could go but I absolutely loved every minute of it."
Depending on how his body copes after the fourth race Hall said he would be keen to take the fundraising drive further and do the New York half-marathon in March 2020.
