Our Director reflects on his fundraising challenge
A year ago, our Director, Colin McCoy, embarked on three long hikes culminating in a 100km walk in memory of his sister Clare whose life was sadly claimed in 2012 by Sepsis.
Here, Colin reflects on the gruelling final hike of the 100km Thames Towpath challenge, urging others to take up the challenge themselves as a great way to raise money for deserving charities like The UK Sepsis Trust.
Colin said: “When I first signed up for the walk, I couldn’t really get my head around where to start with training to walk 100km. I remembered thinking of friends who had run marathons often talking about the mental aspect being the biggest challenge over fitness – I was now beginning to understand the sheer scale of the task at hand!
“Luckily, I had a walking buddy, Simon Cripps, who took up the challenge with me. This helped me focus and kept me going as the long training walks were underway. Being able to train with a friend certainly helped take my mind off the next step and thoughts of making it to the finish line.
“On the day of the walk, it all started off brisk and sprightly. But as you can imagine the mental side of having to walk 100km, or rather for 24 hours non-stop, begins to kick in. You constantly have to fight the natural urge to stop. But walking for my sister and to highlight the work that The UK Sepsis Trust does spurred me on.
“Certainly, the most surreal moment of the evening was watching, and hearing, a party boat of revellers floating by at 1am in the morning with tunes blaring out as we trudged on. Although we had a spring in our step for a moment!
“With the timer just about to hit 25 hours, we skipped across the finish line with very sore feet but we were elated.
“It was an incredibly rewarding experience, but truly humbling to walk in honour of my sister, Clare. I knew I wanted to do something significant in her memory but at the same time raise vital funds and awareness for the UK Sepsis charity and help prevent this heartache happening to other families.”
Colin and Simon raised a total of £13,500 for The Sepsis UK Trust. This is enough to train and equip two hospitals and save around 200 lives per year.
About The UK Sepsis Trust
Sepsis kills 5 people every hour in the UK and affects 25,000 children each year in the UK. The UK Sepsis Trust exists to fight this life-threatening condition, stop preventable deaths and support those affected by sepsis. Sepsis (also known as blood poisoning) is the immune system’s overreaction to an infection or injury. Normally our immune system fights infection – but sometimes, for reasons we don’t yet understand, it attacks our body’s own organs and tissues. If not treated immediately, sepsis can result in organ failure and death. Yet with early diagnosis, it can be treated with antibiotics. Find out more about the condition through the UK Sepsis Trust.