Sore feet, aching muscles and pride for Codsall father who completed epic trek in memory of daughter

Santino Sellick said that the Legacy Walk from Trafalgar Square in London to his home in Codsall had been one of the toughest things he had ever done and he was still feeling the physical and mental effects a day after completing the challenge.

The 43-year-old set off from Trafalgar Square on January 2 with his friends Wayne Lacy, Dean Turner and Stefan Kolakovic on a walk which was designed to help raise much-needed funds for a number of charities, including CRY (Cardiac Risk in the Young), A Child of Mine, Compton Care and Wightwick Hall High School.

The walk, which was done with no support crew, was also done in memory of Mr Sellick's daughter Maria, who died aged 17 on November 29, 2021, after she collapsed from a sudden cardiac arrest on her way home from a school placement, with the arrival date of January 7 significant as it would have been Maria's 21st birthday.

Mr Sellick said the group had made an impact instantly at Trafalgar Square, with a lot of tourists taking photos and making donations to his GoFundMe page, and that support had continued all along the way.

He said: "We got to Trafalgar Square, which was full of tourists, and they were in great spirits, taking photos and donating to the GoFundMe and just giving us so much praise for what we were doing, which really boosted us as we started off.

"After we camped on the first night near Elstree Studios, Stefan had gone off to get a hot drink and that led to us being given hospitality by the OCU Group, who invited us to use their welfare facilities, toilets, hot water and microwaves.

"That was the kind of love and support that we were getting and it carried on all the way up the country."

The walk was not without its challenges and at least two of the team were forced to withdraw early on after picking up injuries, with Wayne Lacy picking up a leg injury on Hampstead Heath and Dean Turner straining an abductor muscle and hamstring on the second day and requiring a pick up from a church in Towcester.

After stopping for a second night in Daventry next to the Lady of Charity Catholic Church, Mr Sellick said the team had intended to stop another night on the way, but after getting up early, the group ended up doing almost 39 hours of straight walking after being inspired by one of the injured walkers turning up with a pair of crutches.

He said: "We continued to walk and go to a point in the evening where we were going to meet the team members who had been taken away injured as they were bringing us hot drinks and soup to warm us up.

"I was suffering from mental lethargy at this point, but I remember seeing Wayne Lacy all dressed up and asked him what he was doing, to which he told me that he wanted to finish this thing and pulled out a pair of crutches to join the final march with me.

"What we then decided to do was walk through the night and did about 39 hours straight, with only a quick power nap for me in a Subway at a petrol station, and I think it really started to make me hallucinate, but we powered on and did the 55 miles."

Mr Sellick said the mental and physical toll really took a toll on everyone in the group, with mental doubts creeping in as they reached Birmingham, but said that he saw a sign that inspired him to keep going.

He said: "In Birmingham, there was a horrible, irrational self doubt among us that kept saying that we weren't going to make it and how painful it all was.

"However, I looked in front of me and saw the guy who was leading the way and I could see the sunshine around his feet, nowhere else apart from there, and that spurred me on as it was leading me closer and closer to home."

The group arrived back at Mr Sellick's home around 5.25pm and have been recovering since, with Mr Sellick saying that he couldn't feel his thighs, his ankles and calves were swollen and his feet were blistered.

However, he said it had all been worth it for the support on the way, for the generosity of those who had donated, with £7,186 raised and surpassing the £5,000 target, and for the memory of his daughter, who he said he had once told her he would walk from London to her if she had asked.

He said: "We've done it and we've surpassed what we wanted to raise, which has been amazing as it's really going to help some worthy charities and to remember my daughter.

"I'm a big advocate of if you say you're going to do something in life, then follow it through and while the gravity of what we did is really hard to take in, it's definitely something I would do again.

"We had beautiful support on the way, from my friends in Coventry who came out to cheer us on to my in-laws in Birmingham who provided us with hot oxo drinks to all those people who donated, so thank you to everyone."

To make a donation and to find out more about Maria Sellick, go to the GoFundMe page.