Moving stories on our mammoth trek

Someone asked me this week if my march with my mate John to Tipperary is a slog. It’s anything but.

By today we will have walked 600,000 steps in 12 days, burning 60,000 calories travelling

260 miles. Why?

For my favourite charity, Prostate Cancer UK, of course, but also to try to inspire everyone we have met to live their best life.

We were joined by Ian this week, who gave up a week of his life to pick us up and drop us off at the start and end points each day while managing stopovers for us. He has even run/walked

125 miles of our trek while looking out for us. Ian, like me, has been touched by prostate cancer but mercifully he caught his in time and, fingers crossed, is now clear.

We have encountered some amazing characters but this week we were stopped in our tracks when we met Julie at the wonderful Manor House pub in Fillongley, Coventry.

We may all think we have had a few challenges in life but Julie’s tale touched the three of us. Her husband, Stuart, has had a brain tumour for the last year and, understandably, has not been around much. She’s just lost her job and has had constant battles to manage her finances and life in general.

Yet she gave us the warmest welcoming smile and was interested in our cause despite her own battles on many fronts.

Julie and all those we met at her pub took a real interest in our journey and we left with a warm glow about the humanity of others.

I hope that you, too, have time for others, no matter what challenges you are facing, as you and they will feel all the better for sharing those personal bits of life.

Until next week, Kev

‘‘ We were stopped in our tracks meeting amazing characters

CHALLENGE John, Ian and Kev on the trail to Tipperary