70‑year‑old walking challenge

Andrew McGill, a Collingham resident turning 70 on April 26, plans to complete a 26.2-mile London Marathon MyWay challenge from Lincoln to Collingham for Alzheimer’s Society. (newarkadvertiser.co.uk) McGill was born on April 26, 1956, at Lincoln Hospital and said he will start there at 6 a.m. before heading home to Collingham for a birthday celebration with friends and family. He told the Newark Advertiser he will mix walking and running and pass places tied to his life, including former schools, his mother’s old house and family graves in Lincoln. (newarkadvertiser.co.uk) His route is set to leave Lincoln through Skellingthorpe, follow nature trails, cross Fledborough Viaduct, pass through South Clifton, Girton and Besthorpe, and finish with a circuit of Collingham. McGill said, “This time last year I don’t think I could have walked ten miles, let alone 26.2.” (newarkadvertiser.co.uk) London Marathon MyWay is the virtual version of the TCS London Marathon, allowing entrants to complete 26.2 miles “however and wherever” they choose on Marathon Day rather than on the London course. For 2026, the event is scheduled for Sunday, April 26, with the distance to be completed between 00:00 and 23:59:59 British Summer Time. (londonmarathonevents.co.uk) McGill told the Newark Advertiser he was inspired after traveling to London last year to support his daughter-in-law, who ran for Bliss, a charity for premature babies. He applied through the ballot for the main event, was unsuccessful, and said charity places were limited to about 600 entries for more than 6,000 applicants, so he chose to do the challenge from home. (newarkadvertiser.co.uk) The fundraiser is personal for him because both his grandmother and his mother lived with Alzheimer’s, according to the report. Alzheimer’s Society says a person in the United Kingdom develops dementia every three minutes and that donations help fund support, care improvement and research. (newarkadvertiser.co.uk) (alzheimers.org.uk) McGill said he has spent the past few months getting fit through a Couch to 5K program and training at Newark Parkruns after describing himself as “a complete novice.” He told the paper he had not run in adult life and last remembered running at age 16. (newarkadvertiser.co.uk) Alzheimer’s Society is a registered charity in England and Wales with reported income of £143.8 million for the year ending March 31, 2025, according to the Charity Commission. The commission says the charity provides support, information, training and research funding for people affected by dementia across England, Wales, Guernsey, the Isle of Man and Northern Ireland. (register-of-charities.charitycommission.gov.uk) If McGill finishes as planned on April 26, he will end the day where the challenge began in spirit: marking his 70th birthday with a marathon-length trip stitched to family history, and to a cause shaped by his mother and grandmother’s illness. (newarkadvertiser.co.uk)