Marketing director takes a million steps in her stride following mother's death
The owner of a Shropshire creative agency is striding to take one million steps in just 40 days in a bid to raise £2,000 for a health charity following the death of her mother.
Louise Welsby, from Bridgnorth, says walking was one thing that helped, when her mother, Chris Christie, succumbed to a brain tumour in June 2021.
Now the 47-year-old is taking on the challenge of doing a million steps in just 40 days in memory of her mother and to raise money for the charity that supported her.
The challenge, which Louise started at the end of last month and is due to finish on her mother's birthday on March 30, will see her take 25,000 steps a day.
She will have walked around 500 miles by the time she finishes.
"When my mum died of a brain tumour in 2021, I found walking the dog was something that really helped me process what was going on," said Becky, who runs Buy-From marketing agency in Bridgnorth.
"I wanted to do something for the Brain Tumour Charity as they were very supportive when my mum was first diagnosed in 2019.
"I had done a million steps before, but that was in 47 days, so I thought I'd just shave a week off and it would be easy enough, but I was so wrong," she admitted.
The mother of one said the 40-day time-frame has left her needing to take some drastic steps.
She said: "I have to do at least 25,000 steps a day, so I get up at 5.30am and between then and getting my daughter to school at 9am, I have to do 10,000 steps.
"I have also swapped my desk at work for a standing desk and I manage another 10,000 steps by walking or jogging on the spot when I'm working - my colleagues have been really supportive but I imagine they all think I'm bonkers.
"But the last 5,000 steps is the hardest," added Becky, who measures her progress on an Apple watch. "I have to spend 90 minutes running on the spot when I get home.
"The other night I went to bed and hadn't realised I still had 800 steps to do so I ended up having to get out of bed to finish them."
Louise's attempt at a million steps has already broke her original target on her JustGiving page to raise £1,000 for The Brain Tumour Charity, and she is now hoping to hit £2,000.
"I'm planning to finish on March 30, which is mum's birthday but also March is Brain Tumour Awareness month," added Becky.
If you want to sponsor Louise's attempts at a million steps, visit: justgiving.com/fundraising/louise-welsby2
