DURING the last weekend in June a group of friends and supporters completed a gruelling overnight 100km sponsored walk.

The walk from the River Adur near Shoreham to Winchester Cathedral was both in celebration of the life and memory of a much-loved man and to raise money to fund the MSA Trust’s research into a rare disease.

Mark Ashthorpe, from Colden Common, who worked for 30 years in the police including as Detective Chief Inspector, died of Multiple Systems Atrophy (MSA) in December 2019, a debilitating progressive neurological disorder condition, only two years after diagnosis.

The walk was both a celebration of his life and to raise money to fund the MSA Trust’s research into this little understood disease.

Mark was well known in the area and walking sections of the South Downs Way during lockdown of 2020, helped his wife Debbie, and her friends and family, come to terms with losing him.

Debbie said:“We had never heard of MSA until it hit our family when Mark was diagnosed with it. MSA cruelly changed our lives and took Mark away from us at Christmas 2019. We all admire how he faced it all with positivity, and for all those who knew him, with absolutely unwavering humour.”

MSA is a rare condition, with only a small number of people suffering from it at any one time. The MSA Trust raises awareness and funds to support valuable research.

“My brother Steve and friend Frederique were up for the full challenge, which started on June 26 at 4.20pm. We arrived in Winchester Cathedral at 4pm the following day, completing this feat in just under 24 hours.

“Two friends, Vince and Charles, surprised us by joining us at midnight, to help us through a dark and challenging part of the walk. It was an amazing thing to do and Steve’s wife, Nicola, met us by car every time we crossed a road, with coffee, food and a smile.”

Arriving at Queen Elizabeth Country Park at 6 am with 24 miles to go the nightwalkers were met by Debbie and Marks, Daughters and family friend to lift the energy.

Donate at: www.justgiving.com/fundraising/debbie-ashthorpe. More than £4,000 has been raised.