Rob Tiffney begins final stretch of 5,000-mile challenge in honour of MND heroes

Supporters and campaigners gathered to witness the final steps of Rob Tiffney's 5,000-mile walk-run challenge on Wednesday morning at The Bulls Head in Breaston, in aid of the Motor Neurone Disease (MND) Association.

Inspired by rugby league legends Kevin Sinfield and the late Rob Burrow, Tiffney has already completed a virtual Lands End-to-John o’ Groats route, clocking up 1,084 miles in just 200 days, but this time, he is pushing himself even further. His new challenge required averaging 10 miles a day for 500 consecutive days, with every step raising funds and awareness for those living with or affected by MND.

Standing outside the Derbyshire pub, wearing his bright orange t-shirt and holding his flag, Tiffney described how powerful the support he got from the community was. “It’s been fantastic. On day one, I didn’t know anyone in this local community, and throughout the 500 days, people started to call me the walking flag man or the walking man.”

“Today, we will walk 45 miles to Northern Sheffield, leaving 32 miles for tomorrow, heading to Headingley Stadium in Leeds.” 

Also, Rob reflected on the people supporting the walk, “I have got around 12 to 15 people walking with me the whole route who are coming from different parts of the country, and people joining tomorrow from Birmingham, the MND community has come together.” 

Among those present was Alistair Laing, Relationship fundraiser (East Midlands) at MND Association.  He highlighted the practical importance of fundraising efforts like Rob’s.

“We need to make sure that fundraising keeps on going because we're providing more support than we've ever provided. We are doing more research than we've ever done before, and we're doing more campaigning than we've ever done before. And we can't slow that down. That has got to continue going over the next year, four years, five years, 10 years, 20 years, until we do ultimately find a cure.”

Also, Laing explained how the association MND patients and their supporters, “the moment that they're diagnosed and they have got the opportunity to come to the MND Association for help, and we can then signpost them in directions that they need to go to to be able to get the support that they require. That is not just support for the person living with MND, but that could be people affected by MND as well.” 

Rob’s fundraiser is hosted on his JustGiving page, which reached £42,800 as the final legs of the journey started over August 20th and 21st, from Breaston to Headingley Stadium in Leeds. You can follow Rob’s Journey on his Instagram @5000miles4mnd.

For those wishing to support his efforts, donations can be made quickly and securely through his JustGiving page, with all funds going directly to the MND Association. If you saw him in his bright orange t-shirt, you could drop some money in his bucket.

Listen Again: Highlights from The Bulls Head in Breaston on Wednesday's Erewash Sound Breakfast Show as Rob Tiffney prepared to set-off