Andy Davies, from Arundel, has created a bold new community challenge to fundraise for Muscular Dystrophy and raise awareness of the condition.
Andy is launching the first Thames Source to Sea Challenge walk, inviting people along the river’s banks and beyond to join any stage of the 184-mile-journey from the Cotswolds to east London on Saturday 17 and Sunday 18 September.
You can walk, run or even paddleboard. Just join an amazing community of people and take on one or more of our thirty stages that make up the entire length of the famous and scenic Thames Path,
said Andy.
Andy experienced trekking in deep snow to cross the Himalayas, climbing North Africa’s highest mountain and cycling in the Alps before he was diagnosed with limb girdle muscular dystrophy in 2019. When he started planning Source to Sea that year, he hoped to walk the whole route himself, but self-isolation during the pandemic saw his condition worsen.
“I had always loved walking, running, cycling and being active, so after I was diagnosed, I thought the Thames Path would be an ideal flat trail for me to do in 2020,” said Andy. “However, along came COVID-19, and, like many others with muscle-wasting conditions, my muscles deteriorated more significantly due to reduced activity. Now I can typically only walk on the flat for up to one mile, so the idea was born to make it a community event instead.”
Andy is looking forward to seeing off the start of the walk on Saturday 17 September at the Thames’s source in the village of Kemble, Gloucestershire. The event will pass through six counties – Gloucestershire, Wiltshire, Oxfordshire, Berkshire, Buckinghamshire, Surrey – as well as Greater London, before reaching the Thames Barrier in south-east London. There will also be a finishers’ celebration at the Thames Barrier (southside) that everyone is welcome to join.
On the Sunday, Andy will join the final three-and-a-half-mile section, between Greenwich Tunnel and the Thames Barrier, using a walker and a power chair. Andy said, “It could take rather a long time! But I’ll be accompanied on the walk by my wife, Vicky, my daughter, Becs, her husband, Tom, and my two grandchildren – which will be lovely.” Andy added, “I am delighted and very appreciative of how supportive friends and family have been in making this community event happen. All the people who carried out recces of the Thames Path for Source to Sea and who will be acting as stage champions on the route are family and friends.”
“Being active was a huge part of my identity that I‘d always prided myself on. I’d been able to do fantastic things, but I reached a point three years ago where I had swallowing difficulties and couldn’t run at all. I was diagnosed and my condition deteriorated even more since then.
“For anybody with a condition, the biggest thing is coming to terms with it. Initially, it was very hard for me. I didn’t think I could cope without physical activity. Now I count myself lucky that it came so late in life, as with some types of muscular dystrophy, individuals are affected from infancy. That‘s why I’m so determined to raise awareness of these conditions. A key aim of Source to Sea is to give others with muscular dystrophy an accessible opportunity to experience the Thames Path or just get together. Source to Sea has been good for me. It has given me a sense of purpose for the last two years. and has brought me out again after the long retreat of the COVID period.”
It’s a fantastic challenge and by breaking the route into shorter sections and grading each according to accessibility, Andy has created an inclusive event that people who use wheelchairs can potentially attend – even just to say hello and join the fun.
You can even take on the Virtual Thames Path Source to Sea Community Challenge, wherever you are.
Not based in the UK? Or looking for a bit of a different challenge? You can get involved by taking on the 184 Challenge - inspired by the 184-mile distance of Source to Sea and devised by Andy’s son, Luke. Supporters will be taking part around the world, including Australia and North America. Just create and complete a sponsored fundraising challenge based upon the number 184 such as selling 184 cupcakes or knitting for 184 minutes.