A team of 13 women from Dumfries has raised £3,600 taking part in the 26 mile MoonWalk Scotland in Edinburgh to raise cash to fight breast cancer.
In several cases the women, their friends of loved ones, have suffered from cancer.
Among them was Annemarie Kirkpatrick whose 11-year-old daughter was diagnosed with leukaemia two years ago.
She said: “I did the MoonWalk for my mum and daughter. I lost my mum to breast cancer and have been fighting cancer with my daughter who was nine when she got this horrid disease, so it’s worth every blister.”
The main organiser was Jackie Rosbottom whose friend Val Skinner Anderson was diagnosed with breast cancer late last year.
Jackie said: “Val’s diagnosis was a huge shock to all of us, a Christmas get-together with the girls was brought forward to enable her to enjoy a night before her treatment started. I suggested that we should fundraise in some way.
“We all wanted to do something to support breast cancer charities and MoonWalk Scotland was the obvious choice, so #TeamTits was formed.”
For Kelly Clark the nighttime marathon undertaking was a way to honour her grandparents. She said: “I did the Moonwalk in memory of my Granny and Papa. Granny died after a short fight with cancer and Papa beat cancer twice.”
After the walk, which was on 11 June, team member Lynsey Patterson added: “My mum had it twice and my aunty Val was diagnosed on October. Other family members have also had cancer so we were tested for the gene that was thankfully not found. We hold a higher risk and are screened yearly and start mammograms at 31 instead of 35.
“Being by Val’s side through her treatment opened my eyes to what little support their is for patients and the only positive thing was the Maggie’s Centre in Edinburgh where Val enjoyed things like makeup lessons.
“The MoonWalk also pays for things like the cold cap machines which freeze the follicles so you lose less hair. Val chose not to have this as it would mean a longer treatment time and she just wanted to get it over with, however losing her hair was the worst part for her.
“I think walking 26 miles is hard enough but to do it through the night when your body is used to sleeping is mentally and physically tough. My legs gave up by mile 20 and I was in complete agony but telling myself why I was doing it kept me going. By the end I was in pieces, I was frozen, saturated from the rain that joined us 19 miles in and blistered on both feet.
“Walking to the finish line and seeing familiar faces waiting on us was the best feeling in the world. I have done a lot of charity work over the years – this was the hardest but is also the one I am most proud of.
“I could not have done it without the support from my family, our amazing team and the sheer determination to make money for such an amazing cause.”
Sponsorship money is still coming in and the total raised will increase.
The team is now looking for future events to get involved with.
The Dumfries team members were:
- Denise Thomson (41)
- Laura Harris (28)
- Carol-Ann Murray (34)
- Natasha McMichael (27)
- Christina Given age (34)
- Kelly Clark age (27)
- Annemarie Kirkpatrick (31)
- Lynsey Patterson (31)
- Nicky Wood (29)
- Lesley Broadfoot (45)
- Angie McKinnon (44)
- Jackie Rosbottom (41)
- Megan Smith (28)
They were joined by Joanne McGhee (34) and Donna Thomson (38) from Glasgow.
Photo Credit – Angie Gilmour
