An annual walking challenge based in Keswick which has raised £500,000 for Multiple Sclerosis research in the ten years since it was created is the latest event forced to be postponed until next year due the Coronavirus pandemic.
The 10in10 and Family 5in5 challenges have organised by Keswick mum-of-three Yvonne Booth every June since her husband Duncan, a former primary school teacher in the town, was diagnosed with MS in 2010 at the age of 39.
The challenges involve hundreds of people walking either ten mountains in ten hours or five fells in five hours to raise money and awareness for the national charity.
Yvonne admitted it was with “heavy hearts” that she and her family had taken the decision to postpone the event which was due to take place on 20th June this year and would have been its tenth anniversary.
She said: “We have been monitoring the current Coronavirus situation very carefully and the latest government advice left us with no option but to postpone until 2021.”
Anybody who has entered the event will automatically be offered a deferred place on the 2021 event and Yvonne said that most people had accepted this.
The date for next year’s event, which will become its tenth anniversary special, has been confirmed as Saturday 19th June 2021.
The annual 10in10 challenge was designed and created by Yvonne Booth in 2011. It was her response to the diagnosis received the previous year by Duncan, who was an elite rock climber and worked full-time as a teacher at St Herbert’s School in Keswick.
As a wife and mother of three sons, Yvonne wanted to do something positive and help raise money for research into this cruel illness. Since then, Yvonne has been recognised as ‘fundraiser of the year’ in 2013 by the MS Society UK and works tirelessly for the cause. Multiple Sclerosis is a debilitating neurological disease with no cure.
Yvonne said: “Obviously, we were all disappointed that the 10in10 and Family 5in5 could not go ahead this year, but we are very excited about celebrating our 10th year in 2021, and it really will be the biggest and best yet!’
