9-Year-Old Chiswick Boy Takes on Jurassic Coast Challenge

Ben Day was raising funds for Shooting Star Children's Hospices

Ben on one of the many climbs during the challenge

The Jurassic Coast Challenge may sound prehistoric but nine-year-old Ben from Chiswick thought nothing of taking on this beautiful and historic coastline with his dad Danny to raise money for Shooting Star Children’s Hospices.

Ben Day was the youngest walker at the event, taking on the Quarter route challenge in June in memory of his cousin Tommy. Tommy received end-of-life care at the charity’s Hampton hospice, Shooting Star House, spending the last three weeks of his life there surrounded by family.

Tommy was born with a very rare genetic condition, severe clinical Myotubular Myopathy. His parents, Alexia and Kevin were told that his life expectancy would be extremely limited, and, after three weeks under the hospital’s care, Tommy was referred to Shooting Star House.

Alexia, Tommy’s mother and Ben’s aunt said, “Whilst he was clearly very ill, Tommy definitely enjoyed the caring and stimulating environment in the hospice, with time spent enjoying the outdoors, the sensory room and even getting messy in the art room. Despite the circumstances, the caring staff at Shooting Star House were able to ensure that we as Tommy’s parents and our family enjoyed the last few weeks with Tommy as much as possible, making the most of every moment, and created some very special memories. For this, the family will always be grateful.”

This personal connection meant the Jurassic Coast Challenge was all the more special to Ben and Danny. “I wanted to raise money and awareness for Shooting Star Children’s Hospices who provided wonderful care for my nephew, Tommy Doherty, and thought that doing a challenge would inspire my son,” explained Danny.

Ben said, “I wanted to help the children and families at Shooting Star Children’s Hospices by raising money for them. And I also wanted to measure how many steps the walk would be with a pedometer!” (an amazing 47,496 steps!)

Ben and Danny took on the Quarter route of the Jurassic Coast Challenge – a 34km hike which took them along one of the Jurassic Coast’s iconic landscapes – Durdle Door finishing in the seaside town of Weymouth.

Ben and dad Danny at the finish line of the Jurassic Coast Challenge

“It was a challenging walk as it was so hilly and a very windy day but we were so lucky to be walking along the beautiful Jurassic Coast with such clear purpose. Ben’s enthusiasm did not falter and he showed extraordinary courage and fitness along the 21 mile walk as the youngest participant!” said Danny.

“Walking along the cliffs was the best bit as they were so tall and the view was amazing,” said Ben, "everyone was so supportive and encouraged me to keep going. I even made a friend on the day."

Both Ben and Danny have caught the challenge bug and are keen to tackle even more in the future. “I would like to do the full Jurassic Coast Challenge which is 100km!” said Ben.

Danny agreed, “We can’t wait to do the full challenge in future years and are also looking for new challenges for 2020!”

The week prior to the challenge, Ben visited Shooting Star House’s Open Day with mum Camilla and dad Danny. “It was wonderful for Ben to see first-hand how money raised on our challenge would help children and their families,” said Danny.

“I loved seeing the hospice with Mummy and Daddy and we remembered my cousin Tommy and talked about his time there. I thought it was a lovely place for children and very relaxing for families. I especially liked the hydrotherapy pool with the disco lights, and the water felt lovely and warm, and I liked seeing the sensory room which Tommy had enjoyed so much,” said Ben. The pair have raised an amazing £1,200 and counting for their local children’s hospice charity.

Karen Peffer, Challenge Events Fundraiser at Shooting Star Children’s Hospices said, “We are so proud of Ben and Danny for taking on such a challenge - it really was a wonderful event for a dad and son to do together, in memory of dear Tommy. It’s great to hear Ben getting excited to take on challenges at such a young age and look forward to seeing what he gets up to next! The huge amount of money raised will go towards helping us care for children at the end of their life, and their families, just like Tommy’s and ensures that we can continue to help create precious memories for the families we support.”

To find out more about Shooting Star Children’s Hospices visit their web site.

With plenty of challenges taking place throughout the year you can check out what exciting challenges you can take on whilst supporting Shooting Star Children’s Hospices.

July 8, 2019