Three friends from Reading have made every step count after completing a 24-hour walking challenge from the town to Brighton.
Ryan Read, 27, Julian Choules, 35, and Dan Curtis, 35, undertook the challenge to raise money for Sue Ryder Duchess of Kent Hospice, where many of their family members have received ‘exceptional’ palliative care.
They started their trek at midnight on Friday, May 3, aiming to complete the 55-mile distance within a day.
The trio only needed 19-and-a-half hours to complete the hike, raising £1,777 for Sue Ryder Duchess of Kent Hospice, with money still coming in.
“I wanted to do something big to give back to Sue Ryder. The three of us know lots of people who have been cared for at the hospice and the care is always exceptional, the nurses look after the families so well and it’s such a positive place,” Ryan said.
“We decided on the walking challenge because we wanted it to be exactly that – a challenge.
“We have undertaken similar challenges before but this has been our longest one yet.
“We trained for it by going for long walks before and after work, but we knew it wouldn’t be anything like the real thing.
“We were fully expecting to get injuries and hit the wall at certain points.”
He continued: “The toughest part of the challenge was that around 30 miles of it was road with no paths, that’s what caused us the most injuries.
“Knowing we were doing it for Sue Ryder is what kept us going in the toughest moments.
“We feel nothing but proud of the fact all three of us got to the end and even did it within the 24-hour goal. We want to say a massive thank you to everyone who supported us and donated, it was so helpful and motivated us to push through the pain and get to the finish line.”
The trio’s efforts have been welcomed by the charity, which is based in Liebenrood Road in Tilehurst.
Ashni Parmar, its community fundraising officer, said: “We’re incredibly grateful to Ryan, Julian and Dan for their wonderful support of Sue Ryder Duchess of Kent Hospice. Completing the walk to Brighton was a mammoth task and we’re blown away by their determination and resilience.”
To donate, log on to: https://www.justgiving.com/page/helen-walpole-1713528239062 or search JustGiving.com for “Julian Ryan Dan”.
You can find out more about Sue Ryder Duchess of Kent Hospice here: www.sueryder.org/duchessofkent
