Kate Buckwell
Kate and Jason's Big Walking Challenge
Fundraising for University of Sheffield
Story
On Thursday 17 September Jason and I will be taking part in the University of Sheffield’s Big Walk One-day Challenge to support the 21 people walking the Pennine Way (286 miles in 15 days!!) who are tougher than I’ll ever be, and to help raise money for the very good cause of lung disease research. You can find out more about the Big Walk here: www.sheffield.ac.uk/big-walk
The last time I did a really big walk was in 2004 for the Duke of Edinburgh Award. My main memories of this are:
- Being supplied by my Mum with a very large amount of Kendal Mint Cake
- Keeping our group’s morale up with lots of Grease, Disney and Sound of Music singalongs
- Getting lost and ending up in a bog of sinking sand
I imagine the Big Walk One-day Challenge 2015 will be very similar.
Jason can’t remember ever going on such a big walk.
So far, we’ve been to an outdoors shop in Whitby where Jason was persuaded by two old ladies to buy the second cheapest (rather than the cheapest) walking shoes in the shop. Anyone who knows Jason well will know just how hard this will have been for him.
We've taken these shoes on two training walks so far.
Walk one: started with a homemade ice-cream in the beautiful Helmsley walled garden and ended up at Rievalux Abbey.
Walk two: was a short walk along the Cleveland Way, which included a steep trip down the cliffs to Port Mulgrave beach. At the end of the walk we went for a lovely meal in a village bistro called the Runcible Spoon (great name!).
We’re planning on doing a few more walks before 17 September so I’ll take lots of pictures and keep you up to date with our progress.
Thanks to everyone who sponsors us!
About the Big Walk
The Big Walk combines two key events. The Pennine Way and the One Day Walking Challenge.
21 alumni, staff and friends will walk the full Pennine Way (including Edale to Sheffield) covering 286 miles in 15 days. On the final day the One Day Challenge will see over 100 individuals from the University walk from Edale to Sheffield covering over 18 miles.
We are doing this to raise funds for Lung Disease research at the University of Sheffield, specifically our leading research in Pulmonary Arterial Hypertension - a life–threatening condition affecting the lungs and the right side of the heart.
Pulmonary Arterial Hypertension (PAH) is a rare but devastating condition. Sadly, most of the 500 or so patients diagnosed annually in the UK die from progressive heart failure within 5 years. This is a worse prognosis than most cancers, and although medical therapies can alleviate symptoms and, at best, slow progression there is currently no cure for PAH.
PAH begins when tiny arteries in the lungs become narrowed or blocked. This puts an enormous strain on the heart as it works harder to pump blood through the lungs. PAH is a very serious condition that becomes progressively worse, causing the heart muscle to weaken and eventually fail.
It is this strain on the heart and decrease in the blood through the lungs that causes the majority of symptoms such as breathlessness, fainting, racing pulse and weakness which can significantly affect quality of life. As the disease worsens it becomes difficult for individuals to carry out even normal activities. Ultimately, the disease is fatal without a lung transplant.
Sheffield is a major international centre for the diagnosis, treatment and research of this condition. We are already making exciting discoveries that we hope will lead to better treatments and ultimately defeat this condition. The money we raise from this event will accelerate our research and help us to develop and test new treatments and make them available for patients as quickly as possible.
Thank you for supporting the Big Walk, together we can make a real difference to the lives of people with pulmonary arterial hypertension.
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