A MOTHER has raised over £3,000 by walking nearly 100 miles to mark the five-year anniversary of her son who was tragically killed in a road traffic collision.
Rachael Mellor decided, while on a trekking holiday in Nepal last year, that she was going to walk approximately 150km from her hometown of Sedbergh to her son’s resting place.
Mackenzie, Rachael’s son, who went by the nickname of ‘Mac’, was laid to rest at the age of 23 at Hey Lane Cemetery in Homley near Huddersfield after being killed in crash with his father on March 1 2019.
The part-time swimming coach at Sedbergh Swimming Club, who turned 60 on New Year’s Day this year, set herself the challenge of completing the walk in eight days by walking 12 miles each day over the Pennine Way and Dales Way.
“I left on February 23 and wanted to be at his resting place on March 1,” Rachael said.
“Some of my close friends and family walked with me along the way but I really wanted to walk a lot of it on my own because I wanted to be with my own thoughts.
“It really opened up my mind trekking in Nepal and I wanted to recreate that feeling.
"The weather was better than we thought but on the last day it snowed. I had snowflakes going into my eyes, it was really painful.”
In total, after eight strenuous days, Rachael completed the challenge having walked a grand total of 239,275 steps, an average of 29,909 per day.
Along the way, Rachael and her three daughters donated benches in memory of their brother and father.
One bench was presented at The Royal Oak pub in Upperthong where the family used to live and two others were donated to Holmfirth Junior Infant and Nursery School.
#WalkToMac wristbands were also made by the family for students at the primary school to buy.
Rachael originally set her target of raising £300 for Cancer Research, Dogs Trust and Oxfam – charities close to her and her son’s heart.
However, she soon realised with the support of her friends, local church and swimming club that she was set to raise much more.
To date she has raised £3,380.46 for her efforts.
Rachael added: “Everyone was so kind and generous, so I had increase my target. Raising over £3,000 was the icing on the cake. I really didn’t expect to have raised that much.”
Despite finishing her walk, you can still donate by clicking here.
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