Sue takes on Peak challenge

A Berkshire grandmother is seeking walkers to join her in a 24-hour Three Peaks Challenge on 6-7 June 2009. Sue Peake-Young, 68, will make all the arrangements for the team in aid of charity Ataxia UK.

Sue has a very personal reason for wanting to raise money. In 2008 her five-year-old granddaughter began to have problems with walking and was very unsteady on her feet. After rounds of tests the family was told the little girl had ataxia, a type of degenerative neurological condition that affects balance, speech, and co-ordination. Ataxia gets worse over time, and there is currently no cure. Already, says Sue, her granddaughter is struggling more and more: ‘she needs a great deal of support and help’.

Ataxia UK provided support and information to the family, and the charity’s extensive research programme eventually offered some hope for the future. Sue says: ‘I went to an Ataxia UK event and heard one of the leading professors in the field talk. I then realized that a cure for ataxia was not hundreds of years away and there is a lot of possibility. Research needs funding, though, so I set out to raise as much money as I could.’

The Three Peaks is one of the toughest challenges in the UK, with walkers scaling three of the highest mountains in England, Wales, and Scotland in just one day. Minibuses carry the teams between Ben Nevis, Scafell Pike and Snowdon to walk over 3,000 metres in total.

‘You do need to be reasonably fit,’ says Sue. ‘However we will match up walkers so that everyone can go at their own pace. You’d be surprised how much money you can raise in a short time: some people have already raised more than the target using things like the Just Giving website and match-funding from their workplaces’.

Sue is now seeking walkers aged over 18 to join her and the team on the challenge on 6-7June this year. All arrangements will be taken care of and there will be a celebrity presentation when the challenge finally ends at the foot of Snowdon. Walkers are being asked to aim for around £1,000 sponsorship, to go towards vital services and ground-breaking research to help people like Sue’s granddaughter.

Background

Ataxia means ‘lack of order’. People with ataxia have a type of degenerative neurological disorder that affects walking, speech, and co-ordination. Over 10,000 people in the UK have ataxia and there is currently no cure.

Ataxia UK is the national charity for people affected by ataxia, providing support services and funding ground-breaking research. In the past five years they have spent over £2 million on research into treatments and a possible cure for ataxia, with several important breakthroughs.

The Three Peaks Challenge can be attempted at any time and takes in the three highest mountains in England, Wales, and Scotland: Snowdon, Scafell Pike, and Ben Nevis. The three peaks are usually scaled in 24 hours, a total height of over 3,000 metres. More information is at www.thethreepeakschallenge.co.uk

The challenge is being coordinated by Sue Peake-Young, of Cookham Dean, Berkshire, whose granddaughter has ataxia. To sponsor Sue or join the challenge contact Ataxia UK today. Sponsorship and timings are flexible so please get in touch with any questions. Drivers and helpers are also needed and very welcome.

If you would like to talk to us about media or press issues please contact Claire McGowan on 020 7587 3925 or email cmcgowan@ataxia.org.uk.

Helpline: 0845 644 0606

Sue takes on Peak challenge