Amy Walter is running in memory of her Gran who passed away in December 2023.
In the later years of her life, Amy’s Gran, Jill, was diagnosed with inclusion body myositis, a condition which causes muscle weakness and damage.
“It impacted her daily, from everyday discomfort to struggling to eat,” Amy says. “Even the professionals caring for her didn’t know or understand the condition.”
Muscular dystrophies are a group of rare conditions that cause muscles to weaken and waste. More than 110,000 people live with one of over 60 muscle wasting and weakening conditions. Currently there is no cure, and that’s why Amy is fundraising for Muscular Dystrophy UK.
“I’m running to help fund pioneering research into treatments and cures as well as providing vital information for those living with muscle-wasting conditions," she says.
In her working life Jill (pictured above with Amy) was a nurse who always wanted the best for others. Unfortunately, when she became the patient, no one fully understood her condition. Amy says the information cards issued by Muscular Dystrophy UK are vital to help increase awareness so other families don’t face a similar situation.
Amy’s fundraising target for Muscular Dystrophy UK was £1,750, but she is already well over £9,000.
The 29-year-old started running in 2018 and every Marathon Day she told her husband she would one day run the TCS London Marathon. Following Jill’s passing in December 2023, Amy decided to target the 2025 event.
Here are her top three fundraising tips.
1. Request a proof of participation letter
Ask your charity if they can provide a letter confirming that you are fundraising for them. It was a game-changer for Amy when requesting raffle prizes.
She approached several local and national companies, including Hotel Chocolat, which was able to give her a box of chocolate worth £30.
If you don’t ask, you don’t get, but Amy says the letter also helped prove why she was participating and that she wasn’t "just after a freebie".
2. Host an event
Amy’s father-in-law loves to host race nights for charity. He had the projector and DVDs, so all she needed to find was a charitable venue that could offer her the space at no cost. We aren’t just talking horse racing, either, as the evening consisted of horse, dog, and pig racing.
That night alone, Amy fundraised £3,000. “If you incentivise donations and people feel like they are getting something, you are both winning," she says.
Amy also came up with a savvy system so that there were different ways of donating on the night.
“It was £10 to sponsor a horse and if your horse won, you got £20 back,” she says. “If you wanted to sponsor a race, it was a minimum donation of £20, meaning the horses were a straight-up profit.”
She also hosted a raffle and auction. Thanks to her connections to the football world, as the Sponsorship and Partnership Account Manager at Watford Football Club, Amy managed to get some signed football shirts.
3. Keep the conversation going on social
Instagram is Amy’s main go-to to keep everyone updated on her marathon journey. Running has been a part of her grieving process and some runs have been particularly raw.
“It is an individual journey,” she says. “Don’t compare yourself to others, as comparison is the thief of joy, but it’s how it works for you and you don’t have to be setting world records either.”
She also keeps an eye out for how she can be creative with updates.
“One day I noticed I was listed as one of the top fundraisers on Enthuse! So I screenshotted that. It’s good to keep an eye out for something different to shout about.”
