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Wheelchair Walking A Marathon

By Joey Paul

I’m wheelchair walking in memory of Becky Giles

Becky and I were friends through her blog because of a shared diagnosis of severe brittle asthma, and many other things including a shared love of cats. She and I went through lots of hospital admissions and times when we needed to support the other through Facebook messages.

Becky died in August 2023, and I would like to raise money for Asthma+Lung UK in her memory. To do this I’ll be doing wheelchair walks around my local park over the month of April 2024, which was Becky’s birthday month. I am unable to do long distance in one stretch, but making up the km, the length of a marathon, in smaller chunks is doable for me.

I’d like to raise money for people like Becky and myself, who have found Asthma+Lung UK a great support and resource while living with severe lung conditions.

Please Help Me
Reach My Goal

Raised

£342 + £57 GiftAid

My Goal

£250

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My Achievements

My Updates

12th Wheelchair Walk

Friday 26th Apr
I ended up doing an extra lap by accident which gave me 5.12km, and so my total is now 55.88km! I’d love to hit 60km by Monday, but we shall see! 👩‍🦽

11th Wheelchair Walk

Wednesday 24th Apr
I made it out in the somewhat sunshine and managed 4.71km bringing my total to 50.76km. I’d like to get to 56km by the end of the month and have two more walks planned. Back out Friday! 👩‍🦽

10th Wheelchair Walk

Monday 22nd Apr
Even with a little rain, I managed 3.18km bringing my total to 46.05km! I plan to go back out on Wednesday!

9th Wheelchair Walk

Friday 19th Apr
On what would’ve been Becky’s 50th birthday, I managed my longest WW yet and did 5.12km bringing my total to 42.87km which means I’ve done my marathon. Gonna keep wheeling until the end of the month in her memory.

8th Wheelchair Walk

Wednesday 17th Apr
I managed 4.86km today, bringing my total to 37.75km! Back to it Friday!

7th Wheelchair Walk

Monday 15th Apr
I managed 5.08km today bringing my total to 32.89km!! Back to it on Wednesday!

6th Wheelchair Walk

Friday 12th Apr
It was nice and sunny today, and I managed 4.74km bringing my total to 27.81km! I’ll be back out on Monday. Enjoy the weekend!

5th Wheelchair Walk

Friday 12th Apr
I finally managed to get out Thursday, and did 4.62km bringing my total to 23.07 which means I’m passed the halfway mark!

4th Wheelchair Walk

Monday 8th Apr
I managed 4.45km today bringing my total to 18.45km and I should be back out there on Wednesday!

3rd Wheelchair Walk

Friday 5th Apr
I did my 3rd WW today and managed 4.82km bringing my total to 14km!! Back to it next week!

2nd Wheelchair Walk Done!

Wednesday 3rd Apr
I went out yesterday and managed 4.58km, bringing my total to 9.18km done! Nice sunny weather again too!

1st Wheelchair Walk done!

Monday 1st Apr
I managed to do 4.6km today and started the marathon and month off well! I’m planning to go back out tomorrow and see about getting more done!

Just over a month to go!

Monday 19th Feb
I’ve been doing my wheelchair walks three times a week, and with just over a month to go, I feel like I’m ready for this challenge. I plan to have B (my carer and best friend) take videos and photos along the way and will be sharing here, and to my socials. If you want to follow along there, I’m @authorjoeypaul on instagram! Thank you for the massive outpouring of support in Becky’s memory!

Why wheelchair walking a marathon?

Thursday 18th Jan
I, like Becky, have severe brittle asthma and have been a full time wheelchair user for over a decade. There was no chance of me having the breath to be able to do an actual marathon even wheeling it. I started the wheelchair walks at the start of 2023, and Becky helped cheer me on.

I felt like there was always going to be something I’d want to do in her memory. Losing her came as a massive shock, and even knowing how sick she was with not just asthma but many other conditions, it still was devastating to all of us who knew, cared, and loved Becky.

This felt like a way for me to do something that might make a difference. Both of us have benefited from Asthma+Lung UK and it made sense to try and raise money for them with this massive thing ahead of me.

For those who don’t know I’m Joey, I’m 42, and also have a myriad of conditions alongside my asthma. I knew Becky for over 10 years and felt a kinship with her because of our shared experiences. This felt like a way for me to honour her memory and make a change for people needing the help of the charity.

I would love to meet and exceed the goal, but for now I just would like to reach it. I’ll be starting my challenge on April 1st and going through until the 30th, though hopefully I’ll have reached the distance before then.

Thanks for any and all donations.

Thank you to my Sponsors

£63

Sylvia Wilson

£31.50

Marie Stuart

Good luck and a great start, a great cause in memory of the lovely Becky.

£25

Emma Soares

Thankyou Joey for doing this in memory of Becky in her birthday month.

£23.10

Anonymous

£23.10

Mary Crane

£22

Emma Soares

Go Joey!

£21

Damian Clancy

£20

Anonymous

Good Luck Joey!

£18.90

Stefani Deoul

Always Brilliant ❤️

£14.70

Erica Wilks

Best wishes Joey Paul. You’re amazing doing this in memory of Becky.

£14.70

Vicky Kelly

£14.70

Rachel Wheeler

Wishing you the best of luck, Joey! A cause dear to my heart as myself, my daughter, and many in my family have/had lived with asthma. A wonderful thing to do in memory of your friend Becky.

£10.50

Joey Paul

£10.50

Karyn Smile For A Mile

Amazing for wonderful Becky ❤️❤️❤️❤️

£10.50

Emma Newman

Lovely tribute to your friend. Good luck with your challenge

£10.50

Jan Louth

£8

Denise