Tag: Trinity Academy pupil

Ronan’s Walk Across Scotland

Hello all,                                                                                                                                    

My name is Ben Liddall. You may remember me through the 100 day running challenge I did at the start of 2021 to raise funds for the MyNamesDoddie campaign.

This was a great experience for me and while I have lots of plans to do more things like this again in the future I would like to pass the torch to my friend Ronan Ratcliffe who is taking on an absolutely astounding challenge, beginning at the end of May. Here is a brief description from Ronan about what he is doing.

It is really incredible what he aims to do: 

                                                                                                                                                             “Hi there, my name is Ronan, and I’m aiming to walk 140 miles across Scotland at the start of June to raise money for the UK mental health charity ‘Samaritans.’

“The walk will take me from Fort William in the Highlands, across to Glendoll Forest, just north of Dundee. It consists of approximately 40 Munroes (any mountain in Scotland over 3,000ft) including Ben Nevis, and roughly 45,000 feet of elevation.

“I aim to start the walk on the 30th of May and be finished by the 6th or 7th of June. Along the way I will be wild camping about 50% of the time, and staying in Bothies (an unlocked shelter to be used free of charge in mountainous areas) the other half of the time. The route I am taking is almost completely remote, only passing over 2 public roads the whole time.

“If you would like to read into the backstory of why I am doing this, please read through my GoFundMe page below:

https://www.gofundme.com/f/mental-health-awareness-walk-across-scotland

“However, if not, I would really appreciate it if you could donate some money to it, or even just share the fundraiser around. It is my goal to raise £2500 and hopefully with your help I can do that.” 

Thank you very much,

RONAN RATCLIFFE

Ben’s 100 day challenge to support MND charities

Trinity Academy pupil kicks off 2021 facing 1042 miles on the road

#Bens100days

My name is Ben Liddall and I am 17 years old. I am attempting to run a total of 1042 miles in the first 100 days of 2021 for MND Scotland and the My Names Doddie foundation. 

On July 15th, 2020 I was involved in a cycling accident and as a result, received a serious concussion. It was made clear to me that it could have gone a lot worse and I got off incredibly lucky.

As part of my recovery, I was confined to bed for 2 weeks, with no technology, no exercise, and no strain. This gave me a lot of time to think without distraction and I decided that within 4 weeks of my recovery I would run my first marathon. I had never run long distance before, my main form of exercise was rugby, but after intense training, on August 25th, in amongst a storm, I ran my first marathon.

I then realised this was something I was passionate about and that I enjoyed, but also something I realised I could use to help others. I decided to set myself a new goal – run 1042 miles in the first 100 days of 2021 in support of the My Names Doddie foundation and MND Scotland. 

Why 1042 miles? Well, one of my main passions is rugby and I would be running this distance around the time of the 6 Nations and also in support of Doddie so I decided to run the distance of Murrayfield, to the Aviva in Dublin, to the Principality in Wales, to Twickenham in England, and back to Murrayfield which is … you guessed it, 1042 miles!

This means I will be running around 10.42 miles every day, sometimes more sometimes less, and finishing on April 10th, 2021.

I would appreciate any donation no matter how big or small to help the ongoing battle against MND.

Motor Neurone Disease (MND) is the general name given to a group of illnesses which affect the body’s motor nerves – these are called motor neurones. MND is a progressive, incurable illness. 

In a healthy person, the motor neurones carry signals from the brain directly to the muscles. However, MND stops signals from the brain reaching the muscles. Therefore, over time muscles weaken and eventually stop working. 

It is important to remember that not everyone is affected by MND in the same ways. Every case of MND takes its own course, but the disease may cause someone to lose the ability to walk, talk, eat, drink or breathe unaided. 

Some people may also experience changes in their behaviour, personality and the way they think. This may affect their ability to plan tasks on a daily basis and how they communicate with others. A small number of people may experience severe changes which are associated with a type of Dementia, called Frontotemporal Dementia (FTD).

Any money donated to either MND Scotland, or My Names Doddie will be used to help people affected by MND in Scotland, and will help fund practical, financial, and emotional services throughout Scotland, including; one-to-one counselling, benefits advice, complementary therapy, a loan of our communications equipment, support groups and more. You’ll also be funding vital research, in Scotland, to help take us a step closer to finding a cure for this devastating illness.

Instagram: @ben.liddall

Facebook: /Bens100days

Twitter: @Bens100days

https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/bens100days