A SON and his eight friends hiked the UK’s highest peaks to support a motor neurone charity, following his father's life-shortening diagnosis. 

Mark Steward, from Bishop’s Sutton, was diagnosed with Motor Neurone disease in March 2020. Following their most recent fundraising challenge, the Steward family have raised nearly £20,000 for the Motor Neurone Disease Association (MNDA) since Mark’s diagnosis.

Mark’s son, Max Steward, led the most recent expedition hiking the highest peaks in England, Scotland and Wales. The PR worker took on the challenge in three days along with eight of his friends, including Ellie Almond, Joe Bousfield, Becky Speller, Jono Hannam-Deeming, Finn O'Brien, Becca McEwan, George McPherson and Katie Page.

The group, all from Alresford, Bishop’s Sutton and surrounding areas, hiked more than 3000m across a total distance of 26 miles, climbing and camping for the charity.

The charitable climbers drove 12 hours up to Scotland on Thursday, August 25 before taking on the three peaks over the bank holiday weekend. The group started with the highest mountain, Ben Nevis, on Friday, August 26 , then Scafell Pike in the Lake District on Saturday and finished with Snowdon in Wales on Sunday, August 28.

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Max, 23, said: “There isn’t this concerted drive yet to get a cure. We’ve got all these great charities but they need the money behind them. And raising money makes us feel like we’ve got our own personal bid in that and some control in a situation when there’s nothing else, we can really do as a family. It’s nice to put our effort towards something and group together and it was really generous of my friends to get involved.

“I think a lot of it is awareness. A lot of people did the ALS Ice Bucket Challenge but didn’t connect it to the fact that that’s just the American naming of motor neurone disease. We need people to recognise it is prevalent and much more common than you might think.”

Motor Neurone Disease (MND) is a life-shortening, incurable disease that impacts the nerves in the brain and spinal cord. The illness causes muscles to weaken and can therefor impede a person’s ability to walk, talk, eat, drink and breathe.

Mark, a consultancy manager, was 55 when he was diagnosed in 2020 and has already beaten the odds with the disease killing a third of people within a year and more than half within two years of diagnosis.

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Max, who has since moved out of his childhood home to London, said: “He’s doing alright at the moment, it’s more than two years now and he’s doing well for motor neurone disease but obviously you do start to lose that mobility and lots of the independence seems to simmer away.

“Motor Neurone disease is such a horrible diagnosis, and the prognosis is so short so it’s a very steep decline and you really see that. The big thing about the research is that there’s no cure or light at the end of the tunnel to hold onto. I think its super important to keep raising awareness so eventually someone will have that light at the end of the tunnel.”

Max’s efforts in climbing the three mountains has raised around £3000 for the charity, contributing to the Steward family’s fundraising total of more than £19,500. Other fundraising activities from the family include a cycle ride from London to Brighton in September in 2021, the Jurassic Coast Half Challenge in May 2022 and the London Half Marathon in October 2021.

Hampshire Chronicle:

Mark's son Max believes there will be more fundraising in the pipeline as the family draw in on their £20,000 target.

He added: “I’ll have to think of something else fun to do. I know mum is very keen to get dad involved in something, but we’ll have to find something he can do.”

For more go to justgiving.com/team/TheStewardsMNDFundraiser.