Paul Stewart
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Fundraising for Spinal Research
Story
Dear Friends,
As you know was caught in an avalanche in mid December while snowboarding in . This took me off a 200ft cliff, resulting in me sustaining a spinal cord injury to my L1 causing paralyis from the waist down. Since then he has been working tirelessly to regain some movement to enable me to try to walk again. On Friday July 3rd, six and a half months after my original injury I am attempting to walk a mile with Richard Dunwoody (famous ex jockey), this will be a massive task and I am determined to overcome his paralysis to raise money for Spinal Research. An amazing effort I think you will agree especially for someone who has no movement or feeling in his feet or ankles. Below is information on Richard’s part of the walk. Thanks for all you help; this is a great cause and please give what ever you can in these hard times. So many thanks. Paul Dunwoody to recreate ‘one of the greatest human feats ever attempted’ 200 years on “He’s mad but you’ve got to admire someone who is giving up sleep and effectively walking a marathon every day for 42 days for charity.” Olympic swimmer Mark Foster On 29th May 2009 at 11.30pm, Richard Dunwoody started a 1000 Mile Challenge and walk the same mile 1000 consecutive times (from the Bedford Lodge hotel in Newmarket up the Bury Road to a post half a mile away and back again) for a 1000 consecutive hours with the last mile up the home straight of Newmarket racecourse just before the Darley July Cup on 10th July 2009…. In 1809 Captain Robert Barclay Allardice was bet that he couldn’t walk 1000 miles in 1000 hours for 1000 Guineas – meaning he had to walk one mile in every consecutive hour 24 hours a day – the challenge therefore taking 42 days with the maximum an hour and 20 minutes sleep at any one time (if you walk back to back miles in different hours). He completed the challenge on 12th July 1809, losing three stone in the process with his challenge hailed as ‘one of the greatest human feats ever attempted’. 200 years on, champion jockey, polar explorer and BBC presenter, Richard Dunwoody MBE will recreate this challenge walking the same mile 1000 times in Newmarket – 1000 miles in 1000 hours, but this time to raise a substantial sum for charity In doing so, Richard aims to set an example to the nation to promote Walking the Way to Health, raise much necessary charity funds during tough economic times, as well as to promote sport in the build up to the 2012 Olympics. Famous faces will join Richard along the way and the University of Ulster School of Sports Studies will conduct an important physiological and psychological study into how the body copes with such a super test of human endurance. Richard says: “My South Pole expedition last year was tough, but this might take it to a completely different level! 42 days with very little sleep could drive me to breaking point, but we’ve set ourselves an ambitious fund-raising target…and that’s what this challenge is about.” Richard will blog the challenge every day on www.dunwoody1000mile.com as well as on Twitter and Facebook.