‘The atmosphere was electric’
Kathryn Riley-smith did the Full Moon with three friends this year
I’ve been fundraising for breast cancer causes every year since my mother was diagnosed with breast cancer in 1992. She recovered, only to be diagnosed again a decade later. That same year, my sister was diagnosed, too. It was a difficult year to say the least, but a huge relief to learn that the treatment was successful for both of them.
I did my first Moonwalk many years ago, and decided to do it again last year. As a Pilates teacher, I recruited three of my clients and together we started training.
We did shorter walks separately, getting together once a month for a longer one. We’d set out at 6am on a Sunday so we could all be back home in time to spend the rest of the day with our families. As we walked and talked, women who started out as clients became firm friends.
When the night of the Moonwalk arrived in May this year, we donned our decorated bras and gathered with 15,000 others in the marquee. The atmosphere was electric, and we soon found our pace. Chatting to our fellow walkers, there was a real sense of camaraderie. There were tough moments, but our many hours of training paid off. As the evening turned into the morning, and the finish line came into sight, the four of us linked arms and marched straight on through. We later learnt that we were among the first 100 to finish! It was an amazing moment, made even more so when we learnt that we’d raised a total of £2,700 between us.
The sad truth is that we all know someone who has been affected by cancer, but thanks to the money raised every year, more people are surviving than ever before.