My name is Martin Hywood; I’m living with and
adjusting to a life with Muscular Dystrophy. I decided to raise funds and
awareness for Muscular Dystrophy UK. In 2016 I took on the biggest challenge of
my life. The challenge was to ‘Move a Mile for Muscles’ to iconic sporting
arenas and events in England. This was to fulfil some dreams of my own and that
of others. Despite my condition I pushed myself to the limit both physically
and mentally. Lots of family and friends came with me and here is the story of
our year…
The family - Skye, Olivia, Myself, Michelle and Lucie.
Like the first mile and the Brands Hatch mile
the next challenge was one where I wouldn’t have Michelle beside me. It was
because the British Grand Prix was something myself and friends wanted to see
and the tickets were quite pricey. Luckily mine was given to me by a local
company that wanted to contribute to my challenge and make sure that I actually
got in to see this spectacle. This company also wanted to remain anonymous and
that’s their prerogative so I’ve kept to my word not to tell others, but thank
you!
I find it very lonely to walk by myself; I
suffer anxiety and a fear of falling because I do actually fall quite a lot.
Michelle has these fears too. The thing about being disabled is that it’s not
just you. Every decision that’s made in our family will no doubt revolve around
access for example, if we were going for a meal, if we’re driving somewhere how
long will it be from the car to our destination, every little thing has to be
taken into account, in advance.
We don’t really need to talk much about this
sort of thing at home, we just know. When we said ‘In sickness and in health’
never has a truer word been spoken. I’m lucky to have the wife and the life
that I do have. I know without asking what Michelle and Lucie both think, I
know that they are very protective of me and always care about my welfare
constantly, they see stares from others that I now dismiss, the ignorance of
others because some might say that I walk funny. Lucie once wrote that the fund
raising we do as a family is for other families in the future “I never want
other children to see what I see with my dad, the struggles he faces now and
the struggles he’ll face in the future which we know will come”. I said then
and I’ll say it again now, I couldn’t have put it better myself. Our aim was to
raise funds for research to help other families and of course younger children
that receive a diagnosis. Olivia is very caring and worries lots about me but
like Lucie and Michelle I have to reassure her that we’ll be ok, if I can keep
moving then I will, it’s a simple as that in my opinion, if I stop then
I’ll stop for good and I won’t let that happen. I am the same as any other
father, I am the first role model they ever met and I’ll do my best to be the
best role model they’ll ever have too. If I didn’t fight for myself and others
then what sort of Dad would I be? Lastly, I asked my youngest daughter
Skye if she was worried about me going to Silverstone with friends and without
the family and she replied “Do you think they will ever make a trampoline out
of candy fluff? If they did could you eat it and bounce at the same time?”
That’s the truth right there, out of the mouths of babes. So as a family, this
year we have had anxiety, fear but also sheer joy and jubilation and so we’ll
carry on but this one will be me without them and with a bunch of friends.
Silverstone is obviously very famous for
being an airfield and a racing circuit, it’s also very famous for an
opportunity to experience four seasons in one day and we did!
Another early start, I’ve been to the Grand
Prix a few times over the years and historically it isn’t the best event to get
in and out of but being local we used all our knowledge of lanes and back roads
to get as close as possible before joining the crowds - but strangely there
weren’t any. We arrived at the circuit at about 08:30 on a freezing morning
(the first of the extreme weather) and drove straight to the main entrance. I
had applied for blue badge parking and decided to walk a mile in the circuit
rather than to the circuit. Also, I wanted to do this as early as possible and
then fall asleep or rest myself somewhere before the race started. The
marshalled parking was fantastic, I was asked if I would need a wheelchair
space or if ambulant disabled parking was fine. Booking and parking at this
venue was second to none, totally clued up. Myself and my good mate, Phil
walked into the circuit after a thorough search, I think the search took longer
than finding our parking space and getting inside. First things first, large
coffees then get this done and meet the rest of our group. Lots of us have been
coming to the Formula One for a number of years, but numbers have faded due to
grown up responsibilities. So we started to walk, like Wimbledon, not much
planned just walk half the distance and then walk back and settle in for the
day. I was unsteady due to the ground and gravel that we were walking on, I was
still cold and that was making my legs stiff and painful. Before I knew it we
were half way and had to turn back and it started to rain and then it really
started to rain… And thunder… and lightning! After a while it settled down (a
bit) until the hail storm. The rubbish weather made me want this to be over so
quickly and it was. We hadn’t met up with the others yet but we had just walked
our Silverstone mile. The others had the luxury of accommodation nearby and
they weren’t leaving it with the skies being so black.
Myself, Phil and Guinness, the breakfast of winners!
The Four Seasons of Silverstone
Myself and Phil celebrated with a pint of
Guinness for breakfast and a big pat on the back. I was so happy right now, I
had no idea why but I felt euphoric and adrenaline was coursing through me,
absolutely buzzing! Finally my good old pal, Dean and everyone else showed up
and they were armed to the teeth with seats, small tents, cool boxes full of
drink and umbrellas, you name it and this lot had it, very experienced
spectators. Me? I had a bright orange waterproof and a smile. Dean and Phil
gripped me up from the bench and walked me to our vantage point and what a
point it was, we saw the whole race and all the dramatics that happened that
day, happened right in front of us; we all wanted Lewis Hamilton to win and
that’s what happened, as well as the crashes right in front of where we were
stood. So we got the result we came for and the boys all had a good drink too
(they were all camping at the circuit until the Monday morning). All that was
left for us to do was to drive the 20 odd miles home but as I said, the circuit
is famed for logistical problems and surrounding areas are usually grid locked
- but not today. I dropped Phil off at his house and I was back at mine within
the hour, which is fantastic going for Grand Prix day. I got home, sunburnt,
had a cuddle with the girls, poured a beer and fell asleep in front of the
post-race interviews on my TV, how cool was that!?
Brothers in Arms at the F1.
I know I’ve said this already but my pals
wouldn’t let me down that day, like the challenges before these people know me
and know the signs of when to help me and they never let me down, I always
consider myself lucky to have the friendship, solidarity and sense of humour
with my friends, sometimes I’m not sure if they see a disability at all, they
just see me, Martin - and that’s what I never want to change and I don’t think
they do either.
August 2016 – Mile 11.
It was in 2012 that we decided to go on
holiday to Weymouth, Dorset. We knew we would be able to watch Olympic sailing
from the coast line and little did we know Ben Ainslie would be picking up four
golds during our stay there. This was the inspiration to return this year and
walk to the Olympic rings on Portland Bill. It is the picture postcard resort,
the epitome of the Great British seaside holiday destination and we love going
there.
As this was our annual family holiday I
wanted to complete the mile early in the week so we could then relax and enjoy
the rest of our break. So we set out early on the Sunday morning and it was
overcast, cool and very steep! I parked our car next to an ice cream van and
promised myself that when we were done I would buy all of us a big cornet as a
reward. It was a very tough walk but as we reached the summit at Portland the
cloud had cleared and the photo opportunity was incredible, the Olympic rings
had been moved from what their home was in 2012 to where they are now and that
is overlooking Weymouth bay and Chesil beach. It was glorious, the sun had come
out and it felt like we were in Rio, in fact we were probably in a warmer
environment than that of Brazil. So that was another mile ticked off and a nod
to the Olympics both past and present as we went back to our accommodation and
caught up with all what was going on in South America. The Ice cream was amazing
too and the van owner man even made a donation to my page after telling him our
story.
On top of the World!
August 2016 – Mile 12.
This was to be Chars Mile; I had decided to
dedicate all my efforts for this day to my dear friend, Charlotte. As I
previously mentioned Char was a big music fan and I know she liked 80's music
and lots of colour so that’s what I tried to make happen. The Idea was a 80's
themed party and during the day to cover 50 miles with family and friends by
walking around our local pub in a relay, all of which was made possible thanks
to our great friends and Landlord and Landlady; Gary & Val.
The day started at 13:00 and ten children set
off with parents, family and friends to complete their very own mile, this also
included young Callum who got out of his wheelchair for the last circuit and
insisted on walking the last leg. There was not a dry eye in the house, this
lad wanted to make every effort for others with this devastating condition,
this was a very brave and inspirational young man, what a way to start our day
of fundraising. We were also joined by a friend who asked to be our DJ. Dean
Yorke was not local and also has Muscular Dystrophy but insisted on being part
of the party and getting all his equipment here to play, these are the sort of
things that you do not forget, people who have a ‘whatever it takes’ attitude,
unbelievable.
The groups set off on another mile every
hour, friends I see every day, friends I haven’t seen for years, friends from
all over England and friends that are now friends because of what we did that
day. It seemed a lot of people had heard about this event and the pub was
packed. The BBQ had sold out, raffle tickets had all gone, music was playing
and I think the bar nearly ran dry and people celebrated their own mile and
their own achievement. I was stuck between the emotions of elation and
desperately missing somebody…
When 17:00 came around it was the final mile
of the day; this was Char's mile and time for me to walk it and say goodbye in
my own way. It was painful from the outset but I tried to ignore it, my legs
were burning, I couldn’t raise my arms and my back felt like it was falling in
on its self with no support from lower back muscles. With the help of everyone
around me, including Char's Mum and Dad, I persevered and pushed myself further
than I should have done if I’m honest. At 17:45 I finished my mile and between
us as a group we had moved 112 miles and on the day we raised £1000. I raised a
toast and thanked everyone that was there that day and my thoughts were with
one young lady who wasn’t.
We lined the streets and fun was had for Char. x
This was one big reason why I always talk
about these conditions; people may never have heard of it before speaking to
me, people may never have realised that it has no compassion, doesn’t worry
about being selective and will shorten young lives without a care in the world.
This is why we need to raise awareness and funds to extend and improve the
quality of people’s lives too and that is so important. So I’ll never apologise
for being relentless, I’ll never apologise for shouting from the rooftops, it’s
what I do and what I do best.
September 2016 – Mile 13.
This was the penultimate mile and it was the
only official event that I had entered all year. Parallel London is an
inclusive event designed to bring everyone together. First-timer or experienced
athlete, young or old, whatever your age or ability everyone was welcome. The
ethos of this event is right up my street and it takes place in the Olympic
park, London. So I would be walking a mile at the place that was thriving in
2012, this was where Team GB smashed so many records and collected a haul of
medals, I couldn’t wait to get started with this mile.
We arrived quite late to Stratford and had to
park the car up and because it was an official event I had to sign in, get a
number and a bib to pin it to. I was flustered as we parked the car and I could
also see the Start/Finish from the car park and it wasn’t close to us, well not
as close as I would have liked anyway. Every step counted now as my legs were
so sore and just ached relentlessly, there was no let up now from one challenge
to the next, it was pain all the way.
I
opened my car door, got out, stretched my legs and was greeted by a family also
all dressed in Orange Muscular Dystrophy t-shirts. We got talking and again
this was a family I had heard so much about on Social media but not actually
met until now. ‘Dan’s Hope’ was a team of family and friends doing all they can
to raise awareness and funds for Dan and young people like him who have Ullrich
Muscular Dystrophy. Dan’s parents; James and Debra introduced my family to
their family including Dan himself and his brother Charlie. Together we made
our way to the registration point as we walked on the 11th hour of
my challenge and I was inspired and boosted more than I thought possible.
I
asked Dan what he was doing here today and he explained that so many people
have done so much for him and his charity that he wanted to do something
himself, so he decided - despite his condition - to attempt the 1 kilometre
walk. Dan was full of questions as his dad James explained who I was and what
I’d been doing all year. “How old are you? How many children do you have? What
is your Muscular Dystrophy called? Do your legs hurt? What’s your favourite
food? What football team do you support?” Dan made me laugh out loud as I tried
to answer everything he asked.
We
made a vow there and then that we would walk together and support each other
doing this challenge. We just had some time to see some stalls and take in the
magnificent event that had been put on and before we knew it we was asked on
the P.A. system to get to the start line. It was busy and buzzing with so many
people all around with so many fantastic stories that we could hear being told.
We started walking and I had disregarded the idea of timing myself, this mile
wasn’t about me anymore it was about who I was walking with and I felt honoured
to be with such a determined person.
As we
got near the finish Dan had told me that he wanted to celebrate by doing the
Mo-bot, a gesture made by Mo Farah after he completes a race. Now for someone
like Dan this would be difficult for him to get his hands on his head but I
said that if he did then I would get a photo of us together and I would pose
like Usain Bolt, which would be equally as difficult.
We
made it! We crossed the line together and there were a lot of tears from
everyone, except Dan. All Dan wanted was his medal and our photo, so that’s
what we did - and it’s one of my photos of the year, I know how difficult it
was to get the picture but it just goes to show what we can do if we really,
really want to.
We
have since stayed in touch with James and Debra and we will meet the boys again
one day too, I really want to help ‘Dan’s Hope’. Everything about that day got
flipped upside down because I wanted to concentrate and write about the venue,
an iconic location that was riddled with so many fantastic Olympic and
Paralympic memories. This part of writing was supposed to be all about that and
how great 2012 was but it wasn’t about that at all. It was about amazing people
pushing themselves to the absolute limit with no boundaries or restrictions.
This was very inclusive and the team at Parallel London should be very proud
but for me, Dan stole the show, all year I have used the strap line “If I Can,
You Can Too” well… If Dan can, you can too!
If Dan Can, You Can Too!
September
2016 – Mile 14.
I owe
so much to so many, the problem with thanking people is that if you miss
someone out then you may just put their nose out of joint forever so I always
try to tread carefully and thank everyone but there is a man who does need
mentioning.
From
the autumn of 2015 I have been helped by Thom Kirwin. Thom is a Sports
Journalist, Broadcaster, Commentator and Media executive for Leeds united. Now
I didn’t want to start this whole writing process there, I realise that unless
you have an affiliation with a football club it would be of no interest to you
and you would stop reading but this is not about who I support, it’s about who
supported me.
On
January 2nd, 2016 Thom helped me launch my whole campaign at Elland
Road. Thom managed to get our short film on the big screen before kick-off
against the MK Dons, he invited all my family up to see it, put me in touch
with all press associates that were present at the game that day including SKY
presenter; Bryn Law who has also been helping out and staying in touch all
year, constantly asking to help.
So I
am sorry to be writing this part retrospectively and out of the order of events
but it all started at Leeds with the help of Thom and this amazing year will
end there too. I cannot thank you enough Thom, forever grateful.
The
very last mile was the best. The very last mile was a walk to football with
friends, the people that pulled me out of my shell after sharing my stories on
social media, the people that took me in and said “you’re one of us”, the
people that went Marching on Together with me, the kindred spirits that were
here to help.
We met
with a large group in Holbeck Moor Park at 13:00; 10th Sept,
everyone had come together, family and friends that had been with me for
different miles all over England and throughout the year. We were joined by
strangers too, people that had heard my story and promised to make this walk to
football with us. We were again joined by friends with a young son called
Conrad; Conrad also had Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy. Conrad’s mum and dad,
Clair & Richard had become friends on social media and said they wanted to
be here to be part of this. Just before we started walking I got a call from a
man who couldn’t find his way to the park to join us, the phone reception was
bad and I couldn’t understand who it was but tried my best to direct them to
us. I turned around to where I thought he was walking from and a man-mountain
was walking towards me. The man in question was Jamie jones-Buchanan and what a
fantastic smile this man has, it stood me in good stead as we all got some
photos together and then set off on the final challenge of the year.
Myself, the legend that is JJB and great friend and author, Jon Howe
This was
probably the most emotional mile, in fact probably one of the most emotional
things I’ve ever done in my life. Everything hurt, everything was white hot
with pain and I especially had a problem with my calf muscles, they just kept
pinging with pain and telling me to stop, I’ve come too far to stop now, all I
could think of was Billy Bremner's statue, quite selfishly I had nothing or
nobody else on my mind. And then I stopped, truly exhausted, I was in a place
of pain and discomfort that I’ve never experienced before…
It was
on the roundabout near Lowfields Avenue, close to the underpass on Lowfields
Road, just a few hundred metres from Elland Road. I’d been here for years, I’d
walked this walk many times, I was so close but felt so far away. I was thinking
a lot, maybe too much. As Michelle massaged my calf muscles, trying to get some
feeling back I was pondering, contemplating the future and what it might hold
for me and I must say this… I do not fear a wheelchair or what’s coming, I have
a good idea. I am realist and seeing my older brother dealing with this
condition makes it easier to set myself up. Organisation and positivity work
for me, it’s my coping mechanism, also the Mrs! Michelle once helped me out so
much when I was stubborn and so very low, she told me to concentrate on what I
can do and not what I can’t and I’ve done that ever since – that was me told.
As I
came around and out of what felt like a day dream of pain I just thought that I
would carry on regardless, even if it took all day, even if I crawled, nobody
was timing me and I would make it off my own steam, this is the end and I’m
surrounded by people who care, but still I didn’t want to let anyone down. I
hid my pain away, I tried my best to let it go unnoticed, but it must have been
written on my face as Michelle and our Jo grabbed me under the arms as we
walked the last few steps towards Billy’s Statue. Josh joined us too and we
only had a few steps left, the last part of the challenge was to climb the
steps of the statue and touch the famous shirt, I couldn’t make it, I couldn’t
lift my arms high enough but as the tears flowed and the relief was felt, I
reached the shorts of our famous number four. I was done, I had given every
fibre of myself and I had succeeded, the impossible task had just been smashed
and I had surprised myself and pushed myself beyond what I thought I could
possibly do.
I got there thanks to Michelle and Jo
Marching On Together!
What
was needed after this mile was for me to be somewhere very comfortable and I
was. Thom had arranged for us to be seated in the Norman Hunter suite and there
we would have lunch before kick-off. I was so tired and I couldn’t really get
my head around the menu to place an order for lunch. It was then that I noticed
Norman Hunter was in the room, Norman was one of the reasons I went to Wembley
to walk a mile, I had gone to pay homage to a couple of fantastic football
players. It was exactly 50 years since England won the world cup and part of
the squad was two of my favourite players. The Leeds United representatives in
1966 were one-club-player in Jack Charlton and the aforementioned Norman
Hunter; one of my heroes, sat just across the room from where I was. I wasn’t
going to miss an opportunity for a chat and as I walked across to say hello we
was asked to take our seats in the stands for the game. I kept going the
opposite way to everyone else and as I got in front of Norman my mouth was bone
dry, I had the worst case of cotton wool mouth and speechlessness that I could
think of but I held out my hand, he shook it and we had a chat. Not sure how it
happened but the whole of the banqueting suite had emptied and Norman asks to
come and sit with my family and wanted to know all about my challenge. For
about 5 or 10 minutes I had this legend to myself and I got to ask him
everything I ever thought I would. I will put this down to the generosity of
others for giving me this opportunity to be in the right place at the right
time, something I will never forget.
A Hero of Mine - Norman Hunter
My
year of challenges was complete and in dribs and drabs my fundraising page kept
slowly creeping up and then one day in the week after we had walked to Leeds I
got a message from a man called Gary O’Leary-Steele and the message read like
this… “Hi Martin, long time follower on twitter and admirer of your fund raising
work. I’m a security researcher at a company based in Leeds; from time to time
we are awarded prizes known as bug bounties when we find security flaws. If we
donate the reward then it gets doubled by the sender. I would like to donate my
reward to you; it will be in the region of £4,850. Keep up the good work mate.
Marching On Together!”
My
first thought was that Gary was going to ask for my credit card details and
that I was dealing with some sort of internet troll or distributor of spam but
I was wrong and Gary did make that donation and alongside everyone else’s
generosity my total for the year was over £15,000!
This amount of money equates
to 428 hours of research paid for by my challenge, that is 18 days of constant
work to find treatments for these conditions and we did that, all of us.
I had
an Idea and I had pulled it off. It seemed ridiculous and unrealistic but I had
done it and I had shocked myself because of it too. I’ve always known to push
myself because I’ve always had to. I never want to just drift through this
life, I wanted to challenge myself and you can too. I think it’s important that
we take stock of our own lives and look around and appreciate what we have and
if there is an opportunity to help others then we must do that. It is so easy
to be selfless and the chances are it will cost you nothing but a bit of time,
which is what we have plenty of but others may not and we need to change that.
My expected break was short lived but for
good reason. Josh Warrington, WBC International and European featherweight
boxing champion had been supporting me from the beginning of January, he knew
all about the challenge I was taking on and had said that he would join us on a
walk later in the year. So it was time for us to be proactive and go and
support Josh. We added a Leeds mile into growing list (the first of three) and
decided to walk to Josh’s fight. My dad has always said that it’s important to
support those who support you and to give that support back as big as you can
possibly manage. I remember lying on my bed in the Queens Hotel, Leeds and just
as the final football scores where coming in that Saturday evening at 16:45 my
phone started buzzing with a notification; it was Josh… “Good luck with your
walk to the arena, true fighter”. That is the measure of the man and that made
me feel 10 feet tall. We met family and friends in the reception of the hotel,
it was a busy one. Firstly we had to draw a raffle kindly put on by Pete at the
Duncan pub, then we went onwards up Briggate to the Leeds First Direct Arena.
This was more of a hill than I expected and for the first time I stopped during
my mile. My legs felt like they were on fire, so we took time out and I was
just hoping to get some power back. We set off again and the arena was in site,
I wanted to stop again but actually thought that would be detrimental and just
carried on through it. We eventually got there and another box was ticked. Josh
went on to beat up Hisashi Amagasa, retained all his belts and my voice was
gone by the end of the night, everyone was a winner. Our great friend Josephine
gave us a lift back to the hotel and I slept like a baby until we were kicked
out the next morning.
Just before the Josh Warrington victory.
April 2016 – Mile 5.
Now I don’t want to keep name dropping and I
never want to sound pretentious but again I was lucky enough to be joined on a
mile. The decision that people make to join me on my challenges is theirs - and
I was often approached and asked if people could help - and you have to also
take into account these people have a lot of followers on social media so the
message and awareness goes further, faster.
Every year for a good few years now myself,
family and friends have been to Tower Bridge on the day of the London Marathon
and given our support for the ‘Team Orange’ runners. I decided to make this one
of our challenges and walk a mile to spectate and this year we would be joined
by Simon Rix from the Kaiser Chiefs. Again, Simon had seen and heard stuff
about my challenge on social media and asked if he could get involved. I asked
him straight away to walk with us to the marathon and he said yes. It seems
strange that I would let this man wait for me as we were late for our train and
also when we arrived at London Bridge tube station Simon kindly asked if we
minded waiting for him to get a coffee. Cheekily I asked him to be quick “We
haven’t got all the time in the world, pal!” - this to a man who has played to
an audience of a million people in Philadelphia.
My mate Dave, The Sammon family and Simon Rix under Tower Bridge.
That part of London still has some cobbles
and this was like an ice rink for me so I clung on to Michelle for dear life.
We were all chatting on the way to Tower Bridge and the
walk went quite quickly and then it was up to us to support these amazing
charities and all the people running for them. The London Marathon was a heart
string puller for me as it's something I always wanted to do in my life but I
never got that opportunity, I was robbed of it when I received my diagnosis and
my body began to fail me, with all the will in the world I would never be able
to take part in this amazing event. It’s always a bitter sweet day for me but I
never give up my support and it always makes me smile from ear to ear. The
Marathon mile was complete and it was done with the most amazing company and
conversation.
Check out the guy on the roof behind us!
May 2016 – Mile 6.
A very early start for a very different mile,
we were up with the sunrise and making our way to the world famous Kent motor
racing circuit that is Brands Hatch. The idea here was to push myself to the
limit in my good friend's BMW M3, this may sound simple but I wasn’t prepared
to take it easy on myself. I wanted to know that what I was doing was in a
competitive time and seen as relevant. The Brands Hatch mile all came about
because of my good friend Ben Tucker who made this suggestion back in November
2015 (and it was his car we would be using!). Ben had done all the planning
here and liaised with the circuit to make this possible, taking into account
the fact that I was a liability because if we had problems I may not have been
able to exit the car as efficiently as most other drivers. There was a briefing
to attend before I was allowed to get on the track and lots to take on for the
reasons of safety. This wasn’t a video game or Scalextric, this was the real
deal.
After our briefing we went out for pointer
laps, this is a chance to follow the professionals and find out where we need
to be at each point on the track (apex) and also make sure the attitude of the vehicle
was set up correctly going into the corners so we didn’t have a problem coming
out of the corners. I really did have itchy feet here and wanted to get this
over with so I could enjoy the rest of the day and to put more pressure on
myself I wanted to complete ten full laps (one lap of the circuit is one mile).
I set off with Ben beside me and it was
manic! Cars were coming at us from many different angles in the rear view
mirror; I was doing lots of things wrong, braking on bends instead of before,
going too wide and not going fast enough. But then after about six laps I got
it and I fell in love. The feeling of hitting an apex in the right place at the
right speed is fantastic and I did it time and time again.
Before I knew it my laps were up and it was
time to pit in. Thankfully this was done at the right time because my arms were
shot, I was tired once more.
This mile was also special for others too. I
had invited friends along for passenger laps, with all proceeds going onto our
Just Giving page. So I had friends from all over England here to support me but
also to have a go on the track themselves and I think they all thoroughly
enjoyed it as we plan to do this event again. By popular demand we will be back
at Brands Hatch in 2017.
Brands Hatch complete and a picture with WTCC driver, Tom Chilton.
May 2016 - Mile 7.
On the weekend of this mile, this walk to
Wembley I had been asked to a charity ball to speak after dinner. The ball was
in aid of a local lad called Callum and his need for an all-terrain wheelchair.
This wasn’t my idea of fun but I had been asked by our friend Heather and I
couldn’t say no, both for Callum, his family and for Heather. Like writing,
this doesn’t come easy for me, in fact writing is much easier as I’m not stood
to talk and I don’t have faces staring at me.
I had amended a recent blog and had taken
extracts from it because it was very fitting. I stood up very nervously and the
idea was to ease wallets open and convince people to bid on the up and coming
auction for Callum’s chair. I was shaking with nerves and I could not
look over to the table where Michelle sat. I was about to tell a room full of
strangers all about living with my condition, the deterioration and how this
affects me and how we need to help Callum going forward. I cannot remember the
beginning, I remember a few claps and laughs but that’s about it. I do remember
closing the speech because I knew I needed this on paper in front of me. “…My
condition will not affect the person that I am or want to be, in fact, quite
ironically as I get weaker, in many other respects I feel stronger, every day I
feel more determined than ever. The dreams we have as children may not be a
reality as adults, but we can fight to come close. My desire to keep moving is
constantly increased and so it’s up to us, all of us, to fight on behalf of
Callum and get him his much needed independence, Thank You” I walked back to
Michelle and my chair to a standing ovation.
The next day we made our way to Wembley
stadium for another mile and it didn’t feel good from the start. I had some
communication problems with Wembley and that had unsettled me. In all the
emails to and from all the venues I had asked to help I was greeted with
compassion, understanding and a willingness to get involved and with Wembley I
felt like I was jumping through hoops. I wanted little, I just needed them to
acknowledge that I was near our national stadium, it was as simple as that but
there was so much red tape involved that I gave up trying to get cooperation
and just took it upon myself to do what I needed to do, walk to the stadium,
get some pictures and go home. This was my least favourite mile of the year, it
was awkward and uncomfortable. The incline up Wembley Way was incredible, much
steeper than I had anticipated and it felt like it took hours to get to the
Bobby Moore statue but with help again from good friends, I managed it. This
was the first time I nearly came to tears because of pain. This was the biggest
fight that I had had between determination and physical ability. I won in the
end but only just, I was very glad to put everything about that mile behind me.
Brands Hatch complete and a picture with WTCC driver, Tom Chilton.
30th June – A Royal Reception.
This was to be a very different evening,
Michelle and I had been invited to St James palace, London to celebrate 50
years of valuable support from the Royal patron of Muscular Dystrophy UK. HRH
The Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh hosted a champagne reception at the Palace
to mark this wonderful occasion, the event also provided the opportunity to
reflect on progress made over the last 50 years, for the charity to share their
vision for the future and to “thank us for our tireless efforts and
dedication.” It was great to meet so many inspirational people from within the
Muscular Dystrophy community and just to have a good talk and share great
experiences, most in the face of adversity. Some of these people where just
known to me by a name on social media so it was great to put names to faces and
for us all to enjoy the evening together. Lastly as HRH circled the room he got
to me and told me how he had heard about my adventures and wished me all the
best going forward, he then went to talk to Michelle who told him we had no
children, when we actually have three great girls, Michelle was either stunned
by the occasion or had really enjoyed that champagne! A fantastic evening had
by all which ended with a laugh and a blush.
July 2016 – Mile 8.
I was really looking forward to this one! At
the start of this you may remember how I said I wanted to fulfil some dreams of
my own and that of others well this is what the Wimbledon mile was about. As
previously mentioned I have been stepping out with Michelle for over 20 years
and every year she watches the Tennis on television and always says “We should
go there one day” , so that’s what we decided to do. The same with my running
friends that wanted to get onto the Iffley road track and the same also applies
to friends who always wanted to go round Brands Hatch. I was and always have
been about doing rather than saying, if you want it, stop talking about it and
get it done, tick it off.
Also, to add to our excitement we would be
joined on this mile again by someone who really did want to do more and take
part. Ralph had insisted on joining at some point in the year on a mile. He was
adamant that his voice over on the film was not enough and asked to walk to
Wimbledon with us, I didn’t say no. Ralph called us on the speaker phone in my
car and that was very funny for me, although he doesn’t know this, he kindly
directed us in and met us at our blue parking bay, in essence, for about 5
minutes, I had one of the coolest satellite navigation voices on the planet.
Ralph is local to the area and that was very fortunate as this mile was not
planned, I just thought we could walk half a mile away and then walk back again
and that’s what we did, together with Ralph's dogs. Now truth be known this man
has played some nasty characters, a murderer, gangster, Dagmer Cleftjaw in Game
Of Thrones and even a death eater from the Harry Potter series called Amycus
Carrow. Now it turns out Ralph was nothing like his characters, his voice was
awesome and so was he. We spoke about our love for football, our children, dogs
and his fall out with his local landlord who wasn’t so keen on dogs being in
his establishment. Occasionally he was stopped for a photo but like Simon he
was more than happy to help. Ralph really took care of us walking this mile; he
made sure the pavements were clear as this was one of our busiest with tourists
and spectators all over SW19 and also told people who asked what he was doing
“Walking a Mile for Muscles with my pal, check out the number to text on the
back of his t-shirt, thank you!”. Probably without realising it Ralph helped me
start to enjoy this adventure. This mile had made me believe I need to enjoy
this more than I am, stop concentrating too hard and the same with worrying,
there was no point, I needed to start smiling more, and we were doing something
great and that fact had only just hit me.
Ralph bringing my smile back - one of my favourite miles.
July 2016 – Mile 9.
The very next day after Wimbledon, Sunday and
we had driven from South West London to North Leeds. Our destination was
Headingley Carnegie home of the Leeds Rhinos. I am a huge sports fan and as a
family we’ll watch anything at all but this is hands up time, up until this
point I have never seen a LIVE game of Rugby League. This mile all came about
because of two people, Kirsty Christmas who is Regional Development Manager
East Midlands & Yorkshire for Muscular Dystrophy UK and my pal; Jon Howe.
Jon had been helping me all year with contacts and many other things but he'd
also had heard about my stress with Wembley and told me to email the Rhinos and
explain what I was doing this year and to ask if it would be possible to walk
to their game against Widnes Vikings. Also, Kirsty was in touch with
Jamie Jones-Buchanan, an England and Great Britain international representative
second-rower, who's played his entire professional career to date with Leeds
and has won six Super League Grand Finals, three World Club Challenges, three
League Leaders Shields and one Challenge Cup Final - all with Leeds. The
response both from Phil Daly at the club and JJB was incredible, more than I
could have ever wished for, they even sent me a map of a flat, safe,
recommended mile for me take on. They helped me and stayed in touch throughout
the whole year and with Alex Simmons also helping out I was told that this
collaborative effort and team would help raise awareness with me and film our
mile for the Leeds Rhinos TV channel and also for ‘Made In Leeds’.
We arrived in Leeds early as we had a
breakfast date of banjos (Sandwiches) and coffee with family, lots of coffee!
It was great to be rested after our long car journey ready for the mile ahead
and what a mile it was, I had no idea how big this was going to be.
Probably the biggest turn out so far
congregated at Woodies ale house and it was there that I had my first interview
for TV with none other than Stevie Ward, Rhinos loose forward and England
International. What a top bloke, all Stevie cared about was me and my story and
how we were trying to help others. Just before we set off we were joined on
this mile by ex-Leeds United manager; Simon Grayson. Simon was friends with
both Josh and Simon and had heard plenty about what I was doing and wanted to
walk too.
Stevie Ward - Taking care of business and me.
It was halfway through our mile and I was
tired, I needed a pick me up, the weekend of travelling was taking its toll. It
was at this point that Josh joined us (as promised) on our walk and he brought
an entourage too. We now had plenty of numbers walking down the street with
cars stopping and asking what we were doing and why. It felt good to tell them,
that was the point. As we walked I got to speak to Josh about fight prep, where
he does that, boxing in this country as it stands and many other things and
although physically we were miles apart the language and reasoning behind our
training was similar, a lot more psychology than you would expect. We got some
fantastic pictures outside Headingley and I finished the mile off by having a
concluding interview with Stevie at the top of the Carnegie stand. I have to
say this, what a club, what an amazing group of people these were. Not only did
they support me and give myself, family and friend’s hospitality beyond
expectations they also managed to gain friends and supporters for life. That
was me done; I am now, at the age of 42, a fully-fledged Rhinos supporter.
Myself and Michelle have since seen them play against the London Broncos and
since we walked that mile the club got itself off the bottom of the table and
secured Super League rugby again for 2017. To add, we have been given a signed
shirt and ball to do with what we wish and this will be in a festive raffle at
The Duncan pub in Leeds with all proceeds going to MD UK. Thank you to everyone
associated with this great club, you should be very proud of who you are and
what you have.
With Josh Warrington, friends and family - Rhinos fans for life!
My name is Martin Hywood; I’m living with and
adjusting to a life with Muscular Dystrophy. I decided to raise funds and
awareness for Muscular Dystrophy UK. In 2016 I took on the biggest challenge of
my life. The challenge was to ‘Move a Mile for Muscles’ to iconic sporting
arenas and events in England. This was to fulfil some dreams of my own and that
of others. Despite my condition I pushed myself to the limit both physically
and mentally. Lots of family and friends came with me and here is the story of
our year…
The family - Skye, Olivia, Myself, Michelle and Lucie.
It just feels like I’m popping in for a brew, it’s kind of
like I’m just passing by with a grin and a wave. I’m not, I’m here for another
challenge and now it’s your turn too!
I can honestly say I never thought I would get this far, I
thought that we would be doing at least one of these miles in a wheelbarrow or
some other contraption. I have been exhausted to the point of sickness and have
been fighting an ongoing psychological battle in order to keep myself going. So
many times both my legs and my head have told me to stop and somehow I haven’t
and I still don’t know exactly what has got me through this. But I’m on my way
and with 11 miles complete and three more miles to go over the next three
weekends, we’re nearly there, the finish line is visible now and I’m exhausted
and excited equally.
Some might still ask themselves why I took this challenge on
in the first place and I’ve often questioned myself too! I wanted to push myself,
enjoy myself and also appreciate my own body before it got too broken. I never
want to have any regrets because I know what the future holds for me with this
condition, I need to be able to confidently look my young girls in the eye and
say “Daddy tried” and that’s not a sad thing, that’s a very positive thing.
Despite my condition and weakness I am a determined man and I’ve given myself a
chance to help others and get more people involved too. By moving one mile with
me you have drawn crowds, questions have been asked and donations have been
made and that’s the objective. So many times in 2016 people have said to me
“I’ve never heard of this condition until I spoke to you” and that’s something
I’m very proud and happy about, it has encouraged more people to get involved.
The other thing is the fact that I find it hard to rely on
others and asking for help doesn’t sit well with me, I’ve never wanted people to look at me and
wonder what I’m doing to help myself. Well I’m doing lots and I’m trying my
best. As I’ve said on a few occasions, I would never ask anything of anyone
unless I was prepared to do it myself, I have and I do. Don’t get me wrong, I’m
not blowing my own trumpet, just starting to become overwhelmed and proud of
what we’ve achieved this year, after all it all started from a silly idea. I
haven’t really told anyone until now but this was born from watching Question
Of Sport late at night, a question being asked about Stadia and sporting
grounds and that was the catalyst, another question in the programme was about
the 2012 Olympics, this is where my idea started to come to fruition, I was on
my way.
So as we go into mile 12, I just want you all to know how
grateful I am for everything. This is now becoming a celebration as well as a
massive challenge. Strangely the pain is becoming more bearable and manageable
because I know now what we are achieving (I didn’t feel this way at either
Wembley or Oxford – those were tough, impossible miles!). I have always said
that I will never apologise for constantly going on about this and I won’t but
I must say how happy I am that people are still listening, I realise that
sometimes I am relentless but if I don’t shout then nobody will hear.
I wanted to do something extraordinary and I am, I wanted
you to come with me and you have. Thank you to everyone who has helped me get
to where we are now in 2016 and massive thanks in advance to everyone getting
involved with the 50 mile challenge this weekend – Muscles Matter.
