A couple of years ago, whilst living in Dawlish in Devon, I decided I wanted to walk the South West Coast Path. My plan was to do it in sections, over the course of a year. Unfortunately, life had other plans for me. My mum became ill, and I had to leave Devon to support her.
Sadly, a couple of years ago, my mum passed away. After mum died, my fiancé and I decided it was time for a fresh start. We then moved back to Devon, this time to Plymouth. Returning to the South West Coast path, we made plans to do lots of walking. However, once again, life had other plans. This time, it is me that has become unwell. These days, I can often barely make it from the bedroom to the lounge, let alone walk a stretch of the coastal path.
Living with Chronic Illness
Having a chronic illness is frustrating. I often feel discouraged by how little I can manage these days. The small amounts I can do, often don’t feel like a success!
To manage this frustration, I am working on redefining what success and accomplishment mean, and learning to do things differently.
The South West Coast Path Virtual Walking Challenge
I saw a friend doing a virtual walking challenge with End to End Run. Checking out their website, I saw that one of the challenges was the South West Coast Path. I had a flash of inspiration and realized this could be perfect for me.
Doing the walk virtually makes it more manageable, and on good days I will be doing some of it on the actual coast path itself which will be wonderful. Crucially, I have 365 days to complete the challenge, meaning I can do it at my own pace. Having a goal of chipping away at the 630 miles, would help to make even just a few steps a couple of days a week feel more like an accomplishment. I decided to give it a go and sign up. It’s all about adapting to this illness and doing things differently!
To complete the challenge, I need to walk an average of 1.73 miles a day or 12.12 miles per week to complete the 630 miles in 356 days. This may not sound like a lot, but when you have ME/CFS it is incredibly difficult. For instance, there are many days when I cannot get out of bed. Also, the nature of ME/CFS is that any expenditure of energy can cause a severe crash and flare-up of symptoms that can last anything from a few days to weeks.
Pacing with Chronic Illness
My priority is my health, so I will be taking this extra slowly. Although I would love to complete this and get the finishers medal, more than anything this is an incentive to just try my best. I’m still in the early days of managing this illness. Things may well improve as the year goes on, but if not, at least I am taking whatever small steps I can, to take care of my health. Think of this a less of a goal to complete, and more of an intention to do my best! Plus, by doing this I get to support some incredible charities too.
I have created a few ‘rules’ for myself to stick to for the challenge. Only dedicated walking periods count towards my miles, not general daily steps. I will make a conscious decision to go outside to do as much as I can manage, or to set aside a block of time walking around the flat on bad days. A friend recommended some YouTube walking videos, so on bad days those count towards my miles too.
Join me on The Journey!
I have decided to document my journey, so as to help keep me motivated and also to share what it’s like to manage ME/CFS on a daily basis. I will be making this manageable too, by using YouTube shorts uploads.
If you are unfamiliar with Shorts, they are YouTube’s newest experiment, joining platforms like, Instagram and Twitter, in having a thread for short 60-second videos. You can access Shorts on the YouTube app, or by typing #shorts into the Youtube search bar on the desktop.
To make my shorts updates easy to find, I have created a Virtual Walking Challenge playlist.
I actually feel very excited! If you decide to sign up or are already doing one of these challenges, let me know. Let’s do this!
Hello! My name is Finn and I have a passion for creating honest content, that inspires personal growth and promotes well-being.
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