A septet of Gwent law firm Everett Tomlin Lloyd and Pratt walkers are taking a well-earned rest after stepping the length of Britain and back-virtually.
The splendid seven are putting their feet up after they walked the equivalent of the distance from Land’s End to John O’Groats and back in May.
The seven walkers from Newport and Pontypool based solicitors, Everett Tomlin Lloyd and Pratt completed the 10,000 steps every day in May challenge in aid of St David’s Hospice Care.
The walkers joined some 180 other fundraisers who took part in the 10K a day challenge sponsored by Newport-based Kymin financial planners. The steppers collectively raised in excess of £10,000 for the Newport-based hospice and money is still coming in.
Kirsten Tuck, a partner at the law firm, said “We all completed the challenge and between us walked some 2,534,672 steps, an average of almost 11,700 a day each. In distance, collectively, we walked 1,163 miles. To put this in perspective, the straight line distance between Lands End and John O’Groats Is 603 miles, so you could say we walked the length of Britain and back!”
Probate assistant, Chris Lewis, was an enthusiastic member of the team, taking almost 430,000 steps and walking 214 miles. In addition to running up her steps and practicing tap dancing, she paired up with office manager Sheila Shorney to walk during the lunch break. Sheila also joined criminal law assistant Hannah Cocks, running after work and on Saturday mornings.
The weather added to the challenge, with May 2021 being one of the wettest on record in Wales, but this didn’t stop the team getting out and about and finding new ways of increasing their step count.
Trainee solicitor, Abbie Toms, found that online exercise classes helped on the rainy days. Criminal assistant Jenna Collins described how she enjoyed exploring the local area on foot, spotting deer at Wentwood Forest and enjoying the beautiful scenery which Gwent has to offer.
Kirsten explained “The pandemic has put a lot of strain on charities such as St David’s Hospice Care who, due to Covid restrictions, have had to close shops and cancel many of the events that usually raise significant funds for them. This challenge gave us an opportunity to raise much needed funds while still keeping safe.
“We raised £1,362 between the seven of us, and gift aid will be added to this total. We have all felt the benefit of the additional exercise which has got us out in the fresh air and it’s something we all intend to continue with.”
Tania Ansell, who organised the event for St David’s Hospice Care thanking those who completed the challenge, said: “The commitment and dedication shown by walkers, such as those at Everett Tomlin Lloyd and Pratt Solicitors, to complete what was a really quite demanding challenge is testament not just to the determination of the fundraisers to see it through but also to the high regard and value the entire community has for the hospice and the work that we do.”