When I started walking daily as my lockdown exercise, I was pleased with 1.7 miles. Now I'm up to 2.1. For this challenge I hope to walk 2.6 miles per day for ten days (with two rest days). 

Don't imagine this is easy - 2.6 miles might sound like a hop, skip and a jump to you, but it's a mammoth task for me. And the idea of doing it ten times is daunting. But by the end of it, I'll be able to say I walked a marathon and, hopefully, will have raised awareness of ataxia.

‘Ataxia’ is an umbrella term for a group of neurological disorders that affect balance, coordination and speech. There are many different types of ataxia that affect people in different ways.

Ataxia UK's mission is to support people affected by ataxia with research, information, welfare grants, campaigning and the opportunity to meet and help others in the same position.

General fundraising has been hit very hard by the COVID-19 pandemic. Thousands of fundraising events have been cancelled and many charities, particularly smaller ones, are struggling to maintain services because of this huge reduction in income. This impacts all sectors of society from children to the elderly as well as the vital work in areas such as palliative care, serious diseases, mental health, housing support, food supplies and countless others that charities support.