The group of MS nurses covering 1,000 miles to say thank you for their education


25 May 2021

After meeting virtually on the MS Trust’s Development Module, a team of 15 MS health professionals decided to take on their own fundraising challenge as a thank you to the Trust for funding their education. 

With the initial aim of covering the 874 miles between Lands’ End and John O’ Groats on foot, the group have now smashed their target. We caught up with organiser, Laura Davies, an MS support nurse, to find out more about the fundraiser and why the team wanted to give back to the MS Trust.

Hi Laura, would you like to share a bit about yourself and the group taking part in this fundraising challenge?

My name is Laura and I am an MS support nurse. I was lucky enough to learn about the job when the MS team were redeployed to the ward I was working on during the Covid pandemic. I have a background in neuroscience nursing and have looked after patients with MS for much of my career. 

When I met the wonderful MS nurses who are now my team, I was at a point in my career where I wanted a new challenge. As part of the training to be a competent MS specialist nurse the MS Trust offers a development course which I and all the other MS health professionals involved in this challenge were privileged to be a part of in March 2021. It was a little different this year as it was all done virtually and we have never had the opportunity to meet each other in person. However, despite the unusual circumstances we have managed to become a team who not only support each other academically but who have also taken on this fundraising challenge together.

Can you tell us about the challenge you’ve taken on? 

We started off with the aim of covering the length of Lands’ End to John O’ Groats (LEJOG) which is 874 miles along the usual route that runners would take. This seemed appropriate as we mostly lived somewhere between those places. 

For the challenge, we go out for runs and walks in our local areas and record our miles. Each week I total up the miles and share with the group. We originally set ourselves the target of covering the distance by our assignment submission date of 11 June but we smashed that target in just four weeks! We are continuing to get out though, logging those miles and seeing where we end up. Each week we see where in Europe we could be according to the miles we have covered. Last week’s total was 1388.52 miles so I believe we are currently flying over Italy!

What made you want to take on this challenge?

When we were getting to know each other we soon found out that many of us had a common interest - running and walking. This wasn’t surprising as it is something many people have taken up during the pandemic as a means of getting out, getting fit and looking after our mental health. 

A number of us were training for marathons, half marathons or just wanted the motivation to get active. Someone suggested we support and encourage each other in our training so I jumped at the chance to set up a running group. Very quickly I had created a Strava group, had the idea to cover the length of the UK and then thought it would be a wonderful opportunity to raise some money as a thank you to the MS Trust who had funded our education. 

Did you have any specific aims when planning the fundraiser? 

We set an aim of raising £1000 and we have almost reached that goal but it would be great if we could surpass it! We also wanted to get more active and felt that getting out to exercise would actually help us in our assignments and jobs. It has such a positive benefit on stress levels and for me anyway, running helps me focus when I do sit down to study. 

I think we have bonded as a group over this despite not having met each other. We have shared photos of our routes, our pets that have accompanied us and one of the members of our team, Alet, even goes donkey walking and litter picking as she collects her miles. Not only getting active and raising money for a great charity but also making the world a better place!

What has been your favourite part of taking on this challenge?

The best part is seeing the money we have raised as a team and hopefully it has offset some of the cost for our education. All charities have missed out on many of their fundraising opportunities due to Covid restrictions so I feel proud that we have helped raise this money.

Which parts of the fundraiser did you find most challenging?

The weather hasn't always been great so it's taken a bit of extra motivation to get out on cold mornings. I’m not an early bird but in order to get my miles in I have had to start doing some early starts. I am slowly converting to a morning person but it will always be a challenge for me to get out of my warm bed. 

One of the fastest runners in the team has also had an injury sadly but she is still contributing miles which is amazing. Get better soon Rosanna!

Is there anything you’ve learnt or that has surprised you from doing the fundraiser? 

I love how despite never even meeting each other we have formed a bond. I am also amazed that, despite the course being run entirely virtually, how much I learnt (I usually prefer classroom based seminars as a learning environment). Technology has played a massive part in this challenge and in the course itself. 

What would you say to others considering fundraising for the MS Trust?

Please do it! We are seeing and experiencing the benefits of the money raised. We are each becoming the best MS health professionals we can be and all our services are being developed post-Covid to try and offer the best support possible to people living with MS.

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