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A blind, transgender woman is set to take on the Great North Run in memory of the father who would have been “so proud” of the person she’s become.

In 2011 Sarah Stephenson-Hunter, originally from Amble, Northumberland, lost her sight completely after having problems with her vision for most of her life.

Reeling from the loss, and from the shock of losing her dad, Vince Stephenson, to cancer, Sarah began to re-evaluate aspects of her life.

She had been wrestling with questions about her gender identity for some time, but she knew she had to “come out” and begin gender transition so the world could see the woman she knew she was.

Sarah left Northumberland for university in 1991, and now lives in Nottingham, so taking on the famous half-marathon represents an emotional return home for the 46-year-old, who remembers growing up with the coverage of the Great North Run and being wowed by the people who managed to complete it.

(Image: Handout)

“My mum still lives in Amble, in the same house, and I still have a deep connection with Northumberland,” she said.

“I’m proud to be from Northumberland, and to be coming back to the North East now and doing this as the real me, thinking about my dad and how proud he would have been of me - it very much is a homecoming.”

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The athlete, who works as a disability advisor at the University of Nottingham, wants to show that having a disability doesn’t hold her back. She’s been running, with a guide for around two years and says it gives her a sense of “freedom”.

And by collecting sponsorship to help support the new Northumberland Pride festival, which took place for the first time in June, she hopes to help other LGBT people growing up in her home town.

She said she believes the “inspiring” festival could make a real difference to youngsters like she once was, who don’t have words for the questions they have about their gender. And she hopes that by sharing her own story, she might do the same.

“I always knew there was something that felt different, but I didn’t have the words for what it was, though it was very much at the back of my mind because I was dealing with my health,” Sarah said.

“Growing up in Amble in the 70s and 80s, you didn’t heard about the LGBT community in any positive context. There were really no role models, it felt like something you couldn’t talk about.

“There are trans people who just want to live their lives and get on with it, but I made the choice to speak about my identity because I know how things were for me, and I hope that if someone else hears my story and thinks ‘actually, that’s a bit like me’, then I’ve given them something to think about, given them a name for what they might be thinking, and they’ll know it’s not just them.”

Sarah is collecting money for Northumberland Pride at justgiving.com/sarah-stephenson-hunter