A Harrogate woman with severe sight loss and her friend are set to walk 100km continuously for almost 40 hours whilst tethered together in aid of Retina UK.
Penny Uglow has been losing her sight since she was 13 and is now left with just a 10 pence piece area of her vision in focus. Her condition is called retinitis pigmentosa which progressively breaks down the cells in the retina.
Her sight loss makes the challenge of 100km continuous walking even harder.
But Penny will have the help of her personal trainer and friend James Winder, a crew manager at Harrogate Fire Station, who has to describe each step to Penny and alert her to any obstacles.
Penny chose to fundraise for Retina UK as the charity is currently funding a research trial into a possible cure for her condition. The treatment is attempting to stop the cells dying to maintain as much sight as possible.
Penny is undergoing tests to be part of the trial and although her sight will never return this treatment may help pause any further degeneration.
The pair are taking on the Yorkshire Ultra Challenge and instead of spreading the distance across two days, they have chosen to push through in one go.
When asked why she wanted to take on such a challenge, Penny said:
“I am very excited but also nervous, I don’t know how it will go until I’m there. Maybe it was a slightly crazy plan but I knew it had to be a huge challenge to get people to donate.
“It’ll be such a big achievement for me and that is what will keep me going, especially through the night.”
The pair will be connected by a 60cm tether rope.
Due to Penny’s sight loss and the need for constant guidance the pair expect to walk at a reduced pace of 3km an hour meaning they are likely to be walking for up to 40 hours.
The route is split into two 25km loops going north and south of Pateley Bridge, the pair will walk each loop twice to reach their total distance.
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James Winder said:
“This is a huge challenge for anyone never mind someone with such reduced sight like Penny. When she first came to me with the idea of a marathon for charity I, of course, said yes and then it just progressed. How could I say no when the charity is working so hard to help people like Penny?”
Penny has set her target at £3,500 and has nearly reached £3,000. To donate and support the pair click here.
