Retired Sheffield couple walk 12 marathons in June, to support MND Association

“Ten months ago, I was overweight and unfit, with a false knee, and did everything I could to avoid taking too many steps.

“I began losing weight last August, and then when the country went into lockdown back in March, I knew I would need some encouragement to keep it up.”

During their allotted daily exercise time, 66-year-old Tony and his wife Diane, aged 61, set out walking together.

“I discovered fields within 200 yards of our house that I’d never seen!” says Tony.

“We began walking for 30 minutes a day, and over time it grew until we were walking longer and farther.

“As we were allowed further afield, we began walking around Ridgeway, Graves Park, Endcliffe Park, up the valley to Forge Dam, and Rother Valley Country Park.”

After initially signing up to take on the Graves Park 5k walk for the MND Association in August, which has since been cancelled due to COVID-19, Tony and Diane decided to take on a challenge of their own in support of the charity.

“When it had to be cancelled, the organisers of the event reached out to those who had signed up, encouraging them to take on a virtual challenge to help fundraising continue.

“The idea is that if plenty of people do something small at home, between them they still might be able to achieve something large.

“Diane and I decided we would walk the equivalent of eight marathons between us throughout the month of June - 211 miles in total.”

The pair set off on June 1, with a modest goal of raising £211 for the charity.

“The important part for us was raising awareness,” says Tony.

“Therefore, we’re the lunatics that you’ve seen, in all weather, walking around Mosborough in the last month with MND t-shirts on.

“We’ve been doing a minimum of an hour each day - covering between three and 10 miles at a time.”

Tony reveals he’s worn out two pairs of shoes since going into lockdown, and has shed two more stone in weight, giving him a loss of six stone in ten months.

And most satisfyingly, the couple has smashed their eight marathon goal, reaching 350 miles on June 30 - the equivalent of 12 marathons.

“Motor Neurone Disease is just such a horrible, cruel disease,” says Tony, who reveals his fitbit has recorded nearly 340,000 steps throughout June.

“There’s no cure; a third of people die within a year, and half die within two years.

“It’s been really important to us to do what we can to raise funds and awareness, so that one day this horrible disease can be cured for good.”

And as life begins the slow process of starting to return to normal, Tony says he is determined to find ways to keep walking.

“I do like going to my local pub,” he smiles.

“I’ve found a nearly two-mile route I can take there, which will mean I’ve earned my pint at the end of it.”

Visit Tony and Diane’s JustGiving page to donate.