Former Himalayan trekker living with life-changing disabilities launches epic new challenge event – Thames Source to Sea 2022

A retired teacher whose life was dramatically altered by a progressive, genetic muscle-wasting condition has created a bold new community challenge to fundraise for Muscular Dystrophy and raise awareness of the condition.

Andy Davies, 72, from Arundel, West Sussex, is launching the first Thames Source to Sea Challenge walk, inviting communities along the banks of the Thames and beyond to join any stage of the 184-mile-walk from the Cotswolds to east London on Saturday 17 and Sunday 18 September.

“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. “You can choose your distance. It’s a fun way to fundraise for a great charity, which supports people with muscle-wasting conditions like mine.”

Andy hopes to raise at least £15,000 for Muscular Dystrophy UK to help fund research into the 60 different muscle-wasting conditions, to develop medical treatments – and ultimately cures.

Andy trekked in deep snow to cross the Himalayas, climbed North Africa’s highest mountain and cycled in the Alps in the years 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.

Limb girdle muscular dystrophy is a rare and progressive muscle-wasting condition which principally affects the muscles in the shoulder and pelvic girdle, such as the big muscles around the top part of the arms and legs. For Andy, the condition was late onset and has significantly reduced his mobility and use of his arms. The condition can also progressively affect heart and respiratory functions.

“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, who taught in a secondary school in Bognor Regis before retiring.

“However, along came COVID 19, and, like many others with muscle-wasting conditions, my muscles deteriorated more significantly owing to reduced activity. Now I can typically only walk on the flat for up to one mile without back-up from a power chair, so the idea was born to make it a community event instead

“I am looking forward to seeing off the start of the walk on the Saturday at 10 am at the Thames’s source in the village of Kemble, Gloucestershire, which is marked by a stone

“Then on the Sunday I’ll join the final three-and-a-half-mile section, between Greenwich Tunnel and the Thames Barrier, using a walker and, for backup, a power chair – which could take rather a long time! 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.”

The event will pass through six counties – Gloucestershire, Wiltshire, Oxfordshire, Berkshire, Buckinghamshire, Surrey – as well as Greater London, before reaching the Thames Barrier, close to Woolwich in south-east London.

Andy added: “As well as raising awareness of muscular dystrophy, 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.”

You can sign up for the Thames Source to Sea Challenge..
You can donate to Andy’s JustGiving page here. [https://www.justgiving.com/campaign/Thamessource]

Louise Moffat, Fundraising Product Development Manager, at Muscular Dystrophy UK said: “We are so delighted that Andy has created this amazing new event to fundraise for MDUK – it’s been over two years in the planning.”

“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.

“We are planning to have a least one person living with a muscle-wasting condition present at each of the stages, who will act as a Muscular Dystrophy Champion.

“This is going to be a real community event, so everyone is welcome to come, join in, cheer us, donate. You can even take on the Virtual Thames Path Source to Sea Community Challenge, wherever you are, to help fundraise. We have the support of the Thames River Authority, and I’m thrilled to add that Ordnance Surveys will be featuring MDUK as a trusted route-provider on their OS maps app. This will make the accessible routes Andy mapped by Andy easy to find.

“There will also be a finishers’ celebration at the Thames Barrier (southside) on Sunday 18 September that everyone is welcome to join. So get involved and help us make this an event we can repeat next year!”

Andy, who has been married to wife Vicky, for forty-eight years and has two adult children, 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. I’m also so grateful for the super sponsorship I’ve had so far.”

184 Challenge

You can also 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 numbers, 184, such as selling 184 cup cakes or knitting for 184 minutes. Find out more here. https://www.justgiving.com/campaign/Thamessource

Andy’s journey

Andy, who has lived with his wife Vicky, a former school and yoga teacher, in Arundel for 37 years, said: “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, when I was 69, where I had swallowing difficulties and couldn’t run at all, not even one metre. Then I was diagnosed, and my condition has deteriorated significantly 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 through this challenge.

Source to Sea has been good for me too. 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. I also volunteer for Muscular Dystrophy UK providing peer support for people earlier in their journey with their condition.”

Andy, who set up a gardening business after retiring from teaching early, said: “Organising Source to Sea has taught me how much I owe to so many people. I am so grateful to Vicky and my family, and my friends and neighbours who have been so supportive.