A lady whose son had leukaemia as a child has completed a gruelling challenge to raise funds for Children’s Cancer and Leukaemia Group (CCLG).
Earlier this month, Kerry Malton, accompanied by her partner, Sam Scott, friend Julie Halford, and Julie’s son Harry, tackled the Yorkshire Three Peaks Challenge, a 24-mile trek which includes 1585m (5200ft) of ascent.
The Yorkshire Three Peaks Challenge takes in the peaks of Pen-y-ghent, Whernside and Ingleborough, which form part of the Pennine range, and encircle the head of the valley of the River Ribble, in the Yorkshire Dales National Park.
Setting off at five in the morning after camping out the previous night, and despite some pre-hike nerves, Kerry and her team completed the challenge in an hour and a half less than anticipated.
Kerry, who has so far raised more than £700, said: “I love walking, but had never done anything like this.
“Speaking to people prior to doing it, I found myself thinking it would be 100 times worse than it was.
“I’d got it in my head that I wasn’t going to complete it, but when you’re there, the adrenalin kicks in, and the people I was with kept me going, we were pushing each other on.
“I thought it would be harder going upwards, but coming down, there was so much pressure on my knees and it was a bit slippery as it was wet, so that was difficult.
“It was hard, but not as hard as I’d built up in my head. Considering it was a 12-hour challenge that was done in 10 and a half, I was very pleased.
“We had some lovely views and it was an amazing experience.”
Kerry’s son Elliott, now 20, was diagnosed with acute lymphoblastic leukaemia (ALL) as a four-year-old in 2006.
She explained how CCLG supported her and her family during his treatment, and how after a tough 18 months for charities, she wanted to do something to help.
She said: “My son was diagnosed with ALL when he was four years old.
“He followed a treatment regime of chemotherapy for about four and a half years.
“During those years, charities were there to help us, and CCLG especially was really brilliant.
“The last year and a half has been really hard for all charities, and it’s time we started thinking about them again.”
If you’d like to donate to Kerry’s fundraising, you can do so here.