James Norton Celebrates Marathon Success with Family

James Norton proudly showed his glucose monitor and insulin pump after completing his first London Marathon on Sunday to raise funds for diabetes charity, Breakthrough T1D.

The actor, 40, managed to raise an incredible £132,000 for the cause, which is close to his heart following his own diagnosis of type 1 diabetes aged 22, while his mother and sister also have the disease. 

Type 1 diabetes is a life-long autoimmune disease that causes the level of glucose in your blood to become too high, which happens when your body cannot produce enough insulin.

This is controlled by daily injections of insulin which keeps the blood glucose levels low and under control.

Ahead of the race, James admitted that he'd never run a marathon before and that running 26 miles 'seemed like a crazy idea'.

However, the star successfully completed the intense race in an impressive 4 hours and 29 minutes and took to his Instagram on Monday to celebrate his achievement.

He shared snaps of him proudly holding his medal aloft and beaming with his mum and dad, as well as a sweet photo of him showing his glucose monitor to a six-year-old girl called Emma, who he revealed was also diabetic. 

While he revealed that the already intense physical feat was made all the more challenging as he'd been suffering from a chest infection, admitting it had made the race 'pretty gruelling'.

However, the House of Guinness star gushed that it had been 'a mad and beautiful experience' and credited those that had supported him in the crowd for helping him get through.

Alongside his proud photos from the day, James penned a heartfelt thank you to those who had donated and underlined the importance of the cause for the lives of young diabetics and their families.

'Did it. Just,' he wrote. 'Had a chest infection which made it pretty gruelling, but the incredible support from the crowds carried me to the finish line. So much love and sweat and tears. A mad and beautiful experience. @londonmarathon

'Mostly though, a huge THANK YOU to everyone who donated to my @justgiving page to raise funds for @breakthrought1duk. 

'With the additional support from the v generous @bukhmanfoundation, right now we are at a total of £132,000 and counting. 

'This money will go towards supporting young diabetics across the county, but also each pound raised gets us closer to the cure that all of us Type 1 Diabetics so desperately want, including my mum, my sister and this brave little girl in the above photo called Emma, who is 6 years old, but was diagnosed when she was only 2 ☀️'.

'Thanks also to the tech that got me safely to the finish line. I wear a @dexcomukie G7 monitor and an @omnipod 5 pump 24 hours a day (the devices stuck to my arm in above photo) but they were especially important during the marathon, keeping my glucose levels in range and therefore keeping me safe.

'Love to all my fellow T1D warriors out there. We got this xxx'.

James has been an outspoken campaigner for the disease, having been diagnosed with the condition after he began experiencing symptoms such as 'losing weight, urinating more often and feeling very tired'.

However, he has since referred to the illness as his 'mini-superpower', with it giving him 'extraordinary sympathy' for 'anyone who has something which makes them a little bit different'. 

Last year, the McMafia star revealed his  once caused 'pandemonium' at a star-studded event when his blood levels plummeted to a dangerously low level.

He explained that he had dosed himself with insulin ahead of what he expected to be a carbohydrate-heavy meal while attending the 2024 .

Insulin helps the body absorb glucose from food - but if a diabetic takes it without eating enough, their blood sugar can crash to dangerous levels.

However to James' dismay, he was served what he describes as a 'fashion dinner': a low-carb starter - smoked trout with no bread - followed by a long wait before the main.

As speeches began between courses, his blood sugar went through the floor.

'I was dripping with sweat,' he recalled. 'I am on the high table sitting opposite and there are cameras everywhere: if I stand up, it's really rude.'

Speaking on the Off Menu with Ed Gamble and James Acaster podcast, James confessed he was so worried he was about to pass out that he quietly rushed over to a waiter.

'I said, "I'm diabetic. You need to help me. I need some orange juice really quickly, please",' he said. 'That caused pandemonium to break loose. I was looking really ill at this point.'

After being given juice and Pret chocolate bar, a bowl of steaming potatoes was then rushed to his table right in the middle of film star Jude Law's speech.

James recalled: 'Everyone down the table is going, "Why are you…?" I just looked like a potato-loving glutton. In the middle of the speech as well!' 

He said that such moments are not uncommon, adding: 'It's fraught when you're eating out. You can't time the meal exactly'.

He now uses a continuous glucose monitor (CGM) which tracks blood sugar levels and sends real-time alerts to his phone.

Before using CGM, he would experience extreme overnight 'hypos' - aka hypoglycemia, a state of dangerously low blood sugar - that would wake him in a state of panic and confusion.

'[I'd] wake up in a sweaty mess, discombobulated, disoriented, scared,' he said. 'If you're with a partner, it's quite scary for them because often hypos are serious things. You lose your mind a bit,' he added.

James said the monitoring technology has been transformative, explaining: 'Now, way before that happens, we get a beep, which wakes us up. Since then, my glucose is just more controlled. I sleep so much better.'

He now wears Dexcom CGM, which he says has not only improved his sleep and reduced anxiety but also given him greater freedom and stability. 

'You cannot underestimate how much difference Dexcom gives you in your life. It's huge. It gives you power. It gives you freedom from diabetes – which is kinda key,' the star insisted.

While he isn't the only one in his family who relies on the device, with both his sister and mum also being on Dexcom.

'Can you imagine at the kitchen table? When it goes off, we're like, "Who is it?' We all grab our phones",' he joked.

Despite the visible sensor, James said it doesn't interfere with his lifestyle or physical activities.

'There's a misconception that your life is in some way limited – things like swimming or running,' he said. 'But it doesn't hurt at all. I forget about it all the time. I generally wear mine on my stomach.' 

But he has admitted that it can be hard to hide, while working in screen and stage productions, especially during scenes where he has to strip off.

He previously explained the lengths he had to go to to cover it up during naked scenes in the controversial play A Little Life back in 2023.

Speaking to Lampoon Magazine, James said: 'As an actor, I have to cover the sensor up every night, I have my microphone packed on the arm as well.

'I spend some of the play completely naked – usually you'd have a microphone pack around your belt but since I'm naked it goes on the arm. Microphone on one arm, the sensor on the other - it's quite sweet, the sound guy has now called it my puck.

'I never called it a puck before. They cover that with a skin-colored bandage and so I look like an action man with straps on.'

He further opened up about the condition saying when 'low glucose is coming' he gets bad anxiety and feels an 'existential dread', saying it can even make him feel like 'life is not worth living'.

James has also spoken frankly about having to stitch special pockets into his costumes in some shows to hold sugar tablets.

‘It’s interesting being on stage or on set because your body is full of adrenaline and that screws up your sugar,’ he said in 2017.

‘Especially when I’m on stage for a full hour and a half. I have to anticipate it at the beginning of the show and make sure my sugar levels are going up or are at least stable. 

‘In period plays, I’ve had to stitch little pockets in my costume for sugar tablets.’

While he recalled how a co-star once thought he was going into diabetic shock while he was starring in Journey’s End, a play about the First World War, back in 2011.

Explaining how he started to shake and sweat from the adrenaline on stage, he described: ‘Pandemonium broke loose. The next thing I know, they’re improvising and offering me Lucozade in a teacup, saying, “Cup of tea, sir?” and putting biscuits all over the dugout. So there have been moments where diabetes and theatre have collided.