‘It was a complete shock’

“I began the challenge inspired by my daughter who’d done it last year. But in February I was diagnosed with kidney cancer. It was a shock – I had no symptoms, and never had a day’s illness in my life. I had surgery in April to remove my kidney. #walk1000miles now became really important in my life.

It was the one thing that was completely within my control. The cancer, the operation and everything else was in the hands of other people. The challenge meant that I could focus on something I could do for myself. So every day I would set off to walk. I’d record my progress on the chart and watch the miles clocking up. It gave me a real sense of achievement each milestone passed. It’s been so important to me”. Steve Savage, Cornwall