WITH YOUR HELP ... The AADC Trust is launching the #oneRAREstep Campaign to raise funds for our AADCd children to access potentially life saving & transformative experimental brain delivered AAV2-hAADC Gene Replacement Therapy. WE ARE SO GRATEFUL FOR YOUR DONATIONThank you x#CureAADCd

Ted is learning in taking his first steps into his new life (quite literally). He was lucky enough to have an amazing opportunity at gene therapy which, not only changed his life forever but also saved his life. 

He still has a long way to go but he’s on the road..... now we need to get more children the same treatment to save and transform their lives as any child deserves. 

COVID has delayed treatments and stopped treatments. Children (and the families)  in our community are desperate to get the treatment and that is why I am giving back in my challenge with some crazy folks! 

Race to the stones 2020 (+1)... 100k non-stop 

That’s 62 miles, over 2 marathons back to back. Tough doesn’t begin to describe how gruelling it will be. 

Meet the team; 

James castle : the first victim new to running and to team Ted. A massive challenge but with strong determination he is bound to succeed but will it get the better of him???…. 

Alex Hynes :with a steady pace and a sure foot nothing has prepared him for this challenge but with a strong mind and will in preparation the miles will fly by or will be his grounding??

Lisa Lessiter : a small lady with a heart of a lion. Never afraid to let any challenge get in the way. Having completed the London marathon will this be a task too big??

Russ Robertson : no stranger to tough challenges,  always staring adversity in the face this is this mans game. Has he bitten off more than he can chew??

https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/russ-robertson?utm_source=whatsapp&utm_medium=fundraising&utm_content=russ-robertson&utm_campaign=pfp-whatsapp&utm_term=c060206b97794205b0c726005ff5770e

Jaques Danford : a caveman of fun! Hunting out new challenges and always putting his body on the line for his team. Can he pull his team through on this or will he need extra time .....

Carl Gillespie ; another man mountain not afraid of a challenge. Fit and fun but will this 62miles bring him down to size???

Doug Love : this fun and outgoing guy is ready to experience all life has to offer and always up for a challenge. Will the road just prove too long to travel?? 

Lee James : a pocket rocket with a supercharger, Lee loves a mountain of a challenge. The bigger the better in fact. The speed Daemon will relish this challenge but will it prove his undoing?? 

Me/ Sven : always run (short distances) and love a challenge but never actually done a full marathon. COVID turned it all on its head! Straight in with the big one with no build up!!!  Will the training be enough? Or is this just too much leg work for an old dog?? 

Training updates will be posted so keep upto date and see how the team prepare for our biggest challenge yet!!! 

Please donate and give what you can to save another family!!!!! 

Update; 

So with less than a month to go more miles have been added to the bank by everyone and the change in the weather has helped massively. One things for sure though the trails are harder than roads! FACT!

Today saw members Russ, Lisa, James and Sven hit the trails. With 20+ Degrees of heat we managed to to bank between 23-24 miles!!! 

Wow!!! What an experience and a steep learning curve. Luckily no injuries however, the will to push on and mindset to complete was pushed heavily. Questioning our ability about the magnitude of what we are about to embark on. Limits were definitely pushed and tested. Well done everyone. 

So: 

The day of 100km!!! Finally the challenge was started. A very well organised start with with good social measures. A last minute chat with BBC Wiltshire sound to get us prepped for what was about to come. A lot of training and as much anticipation and nerves left behind as the start line was crossed. A gentle uphill jog was met with sharp downhill trot   And that seemed to be the agenda for pretty much the entire length of the course. At least mostly for the first part. And the hills were not short! Relentless is a word of use…

Pitstop a we’re appropriately timed and placed to be honest. No matter which stop everything you needed and more was there, well manned and always with a smile. 

A little rain and drizzle didn’t dampen the spirits and as we got closer to base camp at 50k. Another quick catch up with the BBC, a quick bite and a session on the rollers with sock change and straight back to it. 

The weather seemed to brighten and so did the views. A very scenic Oxfordshire presented itself in the sunshine. As the terrain seemed to level we eventually managed the Wiltshire border.  The niggles turned to struggles but meeting with friends and family at bishopstone relived the tension as a quick massage physically and mentally boosted tired legs and moral. 

Next stop liddington. I thought it would brake the back of the torture but the hills just kept coming and coming and coming. As the level steadied the downhill came and wow was it steep and slippery. Into ogbourne and straight back into another climb. The sun was setting and the views relieved the pain a little. The run now a definite walk. 

The last pitstop and tiredness was on the menu for all. You could tell the atmosphere was different. Still joyful but everyone was showing strain. The grounds we have trained on were now a strange ground. Especially as night was falling. The terrain becoming difficult to get foot space and little visibility with tiredness in the mix made it tricky. 

At times like this is where the meeting of others lifts spirits. Stories of their situations and circumstance or just jokes and Witt. This breaks the tension and helps pass the time and soon we were nearing Avebury. 

Or so we thought! Head torch on and seeing lights coming towards you it all got very confusing.  As we went into Avebury we entered a photo area which looped us back to the finish. 

Boy the finish!! The final runway. Knowing he tracks head was clear we left it all out on the tracks. Running and pushing all the pain out of our heads. The final push!! As we passed the line a whole wave of emotions kick in. joy, the sense of accomplishment, the pain… but seeing the family was the best feeling ever!! Words cannot explain. 

We had just done 100km!!!!!! 

But mostly raised £3.5k to help the AADCd trust to help save another child and family. Poignant that 2 years to the day Ted went to Poland to have his surgery. 

The entire team had an amazing challenge with each one fighting a daemon or monkey on their back to shake off or just carry. The point is they did it for a greater cause!! A fantastic effort and journey through this epic challenge. 

Thank you for your support and generous donations and to all members of TeamTed who pushed themselves to the absolute limit!