Gale and Carol's special reason for taking part in The MoonWalk Iceland

Sisters, Gale Scott and Carol Liddle can’t wait to take part in our fantastic Summer Solstice marathon, The MoonWalk Iceland... they have a very special reason for taking part... their Mum Jenni.

Read all about their touching and inspiring story below...

Carol: “Mum first got breast cancer when she was just 39 years old. We were quite young at the time and didn’t really understand what was going on. Seven years ago, at the age of 55, Mum’s cancer returned. Mum was always very active – everything she did was fitness-related! She was always on an adventure, but every adventure had a purpose with a goal in mind. Mum was an inspiration – not just to us, but to everyone around her.”

Gale: “Mum achieved so much in her life – more than anyone else I know put together. When she got her secondary cancer diagnosis she started doing loads of new things, including weight training and that’s when she challenged herself to become a body builder. She also decided to take up Dragon Boat racing, playing the base guitar and baking. She even learnt how to sail!”

Carol: “After Mum’s secondary cancer diagnosis, she started receiving support from the Maggie’s Centres. Two years ago, I started receiving support from Maggie’s myself, as I found myself struggling to come to terms with Mum’s diagnosis. It is fantastic to know that Walk the Walk has made so many grants to Maggie’s over the years, enabling them to continue to deliver their services.”

Gale: “Every three months’ Mum would have a scan so her consultant could monitor the cancer. It was when Mum was on a walking holiday last year that she came home early as she started feeling sick and dizzy. She took herself to hospital and they first thought she just had an inner ear infection. More scans and tests revealed the cancer was in the membrane of her brain. She started radiotherapy, but very sadly there wasn’t any more that could be done. There was just a six-week period from coming back from her holiday, to being treated at the Western General Hospital, and then spending her final weeks at the Marie Curie Hospice, before Mum sadly passed.”

Carol: “Walking was something Mum was able to do throughout her cancer treatment – she loved walking and exploring. She did The MoonWalk Scotland one year and that was when she first started supporting Walk the Walk. Travelling to Iceland was always on Mum’s bucket list – before signing up for The MoonWalk Iceland 2019, she went there with her friend Maureen. Mum was excited about taking on The MoonWalk Iceland – she’d done a lot of challenges as an individual and was so looking forward to taking this on as part of a group. As The MoonWalk approached, and Mum was in hospital, it was obvious that she wasn’t going to be well enough to take part. It was 15th June that Mum passed away – the night of the event itself. When Mum was in hospital she asked me to take her place and after her passing Gale and I agreed it was something we wanted to commit to doing in her memory.

Gale: Carol and I have never done anything like a marathon before – it is going to be a proper challenge, no winging it! We’re disappointed that The MoonWalk Iceland can’t happen this year, but we will definitely be there in 2021! We’re going to spread Mum’s ashes at the end of The MoonWalk. We’ll be carrying some of them in our bumbags, so Mum will be with us and motivating us as we make our way around the route.”

Carol and Gale

Help us celebrate our amazing MoonWalks and join us on our free virtual Road Trip all the way to Iceland... or if you're up for the real thing and want to join Gale and Carol in 2021 Register your Interest here!