Walking Challenge to Help Babies Like Mabel

Two dads are walking the width of England to help a hospital baby unit close to their hearts

Friends Martin Church and Matt Dyke aim to walk 190 miles in just five days to raise funds for the Norfolk and Norwich University Hospital’s neo-natal intensive care unit

The pair, who met at school in North Walsham, will be tackling tough terrain where the total climb is twice the height of scaling Mount Everest from base camp to summit But they are driven by having babies who had their own mountains to climb early in life, after popping into the world prematurely

Both of Martin’s children have been helped by the unit His first, Charlie, arrived eight weeks early in 2018, then Mabel was 14 weeks premature in December 2021 weighing just 820 grams or 1 8lb, less than a bag of sugar Matt’s daughter Rosa was five weeks premature in 2014 The two friends, with three others, did an 83-mile Norfolk coastal walk in 2020 as a “thank you” to the baby unit. It raised £5,500 – but they vowed “never again” after the 36-hour marathon left them shattered

But when Mabel was born it sparked the new challenge, which will be even tougher The duo’s Coast to Coast route, devised by famous writer and walker Alfred Wainwright, will take them through the Lake District, over the Pennines, and across the North York Moors before finishing at Robin Hood’s Bay Martin, 41, an Anglian Water field technician from Horsford said: “The neo-natal unit is brilliant. They cared for Mabel for three months before she was allowed home - monitoring her breathing, heart and jaundice problems day and night, and also supported the whole family “Mabel was tiny She could fit in my hand, and her nappies were the size of a tea bag. At 15 months she’s now making good progress and weighs 7 6kg ”

Since last April, the two friends have been doing training walks ahead of their challenge, including a 75-miler and a hilly excursion to the Peak District Starting on April 5 they aim to walk more than 15 hours a day, and have a target of £5750, which represents £500 for each of the 11 5 weeks the unit cared for Mabel

Matt, 37, from North Walsham, where he is a project manager for Wall Engineering, said: “The mileage and the hills, which seem never ending on the training walks, will be a real challenge, but we want to help the ward’s future success stories similar to Mabel’s In the spirit of fundraising, and to maximise the sponsor worthiness, we shall be putting our bodies through absolute torture – and might even do a mile wearing Speedos if people pay us enough!” They will be supported by friends joining them as guests along the route, and with sports therapy help from Sally Ling and Lisa Payne of Up and Running Treatments

Donations towards their fundraising can be made via their JustGiving page and via collection boxes in North Walsham’s Mundesley Road and Happisburgh Road stores

Follow their progress via Up and Running Treatments’ Facebook and Instagram pages

JUST GIVING LINKS https://www justgiving com/fundraising/coast2 coastnicu?utm source=IG&fbclid=IwAR1g0O nDjO4lMz8p6A Wy5Bm LrefT77agCtv7l2x WTw9e6bDZjr3DC23mE