‘Never let illness win’ On New Year’s Eve 2017, Tynk Robertson was an active, outdoorsy person. The following morning she was in agony and unable to get out of bed. #walk1000miles has helped to free her from a living nightmare.
‘I was an avid outdoor person. Then on New Year’s Day 2018 I woke up in hell. My whole body swollen, my joints on fire and my throat so sore it hurt to breathe. I tried to get out of bed… not a chance. Three months later I was diagnosed with Sjogrens syndrome, an underactive thyroid and rheumatoid arthritis. I also lost the ability to talk. My vocal cords were paralysed and doctors have no idea why, so my total isolation was complete – unable to interact verbally or physically. The worst of all the symptoms is the chronic fatigue and brain fog. Some days getting out of bed is a massive task because I have no energy.
‘Come 2021 I gave myself a new focus – walk 1000 miles. Why not?! I started with small local walks and gradually increased. It’s been an amazing journey that’s given me my love for the outdoors back, and made me realise I can still get out, enjoy and achieve. When I put my boots on and walk my problems disappear and I can see the way ahead – I think I’d go batty if I couldn’t walk.
‘I met fellow challenger Sue McKnight through this challenge and we’ve walked most of it together – she’s a great walking buddy. I struggle socially but, when meeting people for walks, it’s never an issue and has helped me enormously. Being part of the #walk1000miles community is incredible! Everyone is amazing. The community is one of the kindest, supportive, positive and caring I’ve belonged to. I love being a part of it.
‘To anyone in a similar situation to me, never let the illness win. Take your time to come to terms with it, Acknowledge your limitations… then smash them! You’ll be surprised what you can achieve.’
On the morning of 31st December, 42-year-old
Rebecca Johnson from West Yorkshire was still a daunting 18 miles shy of 1000. But after giving her an amazing year – nothing was going to stop her.
Ijoined #walk1000miles on 1 January 2021, and since then it has become my life. This challenge has given me a focus – I’m definitely not a quitter so once I started, I had to put everything into it.
‘At the beginning of that year I was co-parenting and going through a divorce which was all a strain on my mental health. Walking gave me a release from dealing with what I was facing, including when the girls were away at their dad’s.
‘Throughout the whole challenge I was always just on track. But in mid-November I got Covid, which put a stop to any walking miles. I started December with 136 miles to go, and got news that due to Covid (again) the girls wouldn’t be able to see their father as expected. I had two days’ holiday from work so dropped the girls off at school at 9am and walked until 3pm.
‘I managed to get my target down to 28 miles with two days left, which felt just about achievable. On the final day I had 18 miles to go and I’d planned a canal walk. I got the train to Leeds and walked back, setting off at 10.30am.
‘During this final walk I thought about how it would feel to press that finish button on Strava and get notification from the
Walk1000miles+ that I’d completed the challenge. This thought actually brought a tear to my eye. I met with a friend and, as we closed in on the final miles, darkness was upon us, and we finished just before 5pm with a pint in the pub.
I felt so proud of myself. I’d spent
12 months walking, talking about walking, and thinking about walking, and I’d finally done it!’