“The biggest step is the first one”

My involvement with the MS Society goes back to the 80s. My wife and I rattled collecting tins for the local group in Reading, and I was their Treasurer for a year before we moved away.

Now, I have a more personal connection to MS. My daughter-in-law has it, as does my friend, Nick. In 2021, Nick’s condition was deteriorating. And he’d been refused NHS funding for a drug called siponimod. 

Making a plan

I came up with the idea of doing a walk to raise funds for the MS Society’s Stop MS Appeal and highlight Nick’s situation. We’d met playing football, so I thought walking between Premiership stadiums would be quirky.

Once I knew that Nick was happy with the idea, I began a six-month training regime — slowly increasing my walking distances day by day. I’d run marathons before heart issues made that unwise, and I was fairly fit. I could easily walk up to 10 miles without it being too taxing.

Planning my route was quite strategic, as I needed to avoid arriving at clubs on match days if I wanted to get pitch-side. I was also advised to let each police force know I’d be walking on the roads, so they’d leave me alone. 

Life on the road

My daily mileage varied. The shortest was about 22 miles and the longest around 35 because I got lost! I’d start walking before 8am and finish around 6.30pm. I carried what I needed on my back, pared down to the minimum, and washed things out in hotels. Sometimes the washing dried just by hanging out of my rucksack the next day. 

I’d emailed the 20 Premiership clubs to let them know about the challenge. And to ask if I could have a pitch-side photo to prove I’d actually been there. Only a couple had replied to say yes, but that didn’t deter me. I’d go to the tour office and, once they heard about my walk, the staff were very generous in letting me in. It actually became easier as time went on, because I had the photos to prove that rival clubs had already let me do it!

I got some excellent welcomes. Everton, for example, arranged for me to meet a former player who presented me with a signed pennant. The cherry on the cake was that both he and the then manager who’d signed it had previously been at my club, Chelsea!

All but four of the clubs allowed me to go pitch-side. When I expressed my disappointment to the four afterwards, one sent me a signed shirt to auction off. That was a decent touch. 

Just getting on with it

There were some dark times when I felt like giving up because it was just too painful. The first few days weren’t too bad. But after that, every morning was a struggle until the muscles and joints warmed up. And some evenings, I don’t know how I got from hotel reception to my room. I’d tape my feet up every day, but still end up with blisters and damaged toenails. 

I mainly walked on my own. But on a day when my son walked with me I was feeling sorry for myself. I told him my feet were bad and that I was struggling. He said I just had to suck it up and get on with it. And I needed that. I’d never have forgiven myself if I’d given up. 

Belief and generosity

My faith also helped me push through. The mind is a very powerful thing. If you’ve got belief, you can achieve a lot. And I felt that I wasn’t really alone. When a driver with the sun in their eyes didn’t see me, I surprised myself by being able to leap out of the way. I felt there was somebody looking out for me. And it only rained on one day. There had to be some divine reason for that!

The thing that lasts with me is how nice people were. At the clubs, the hotels, and just in general. Like the lady who stopped her car to offer me some bananas. Or the guy who’d heard my weekly update interviews with a local radio station and, having driven past me, came back to give a donation.

The generosity and friendliness just blew me away. It’s those little things that make a big difference.

Set a goal

Sometimes we put barriers in our way. But we can all set ourselves a goal, however small, to achieve. The biggest step is the first one. If I can do it, anybody can. I got so much out of the walk beyond raising the money and awareness. And I was honoured and humbled to receive a Volunteer Impact Award from the MS Society.

The publicity helped to get Nick’s MP involved and he’s now been on siponimod for about six months. Hopefully, he can have an MRI scan soon which will confirm it’s making a difference.

If I can sort out a knee injury, I have other challenges in mind. Whatever I do, it’ll be to raise funds for MS. It’s a tremendous cause.