More Than MS: Miles, Mountains & Mindset

Hi! I'm Patrick, I'm 33 and live in Cumbria, having recently moved back up North after 10+ years living in Dublin and London. I was diagnosed with MS in early 2022 - following sudden onset symptoms. These included a loss of strength and fine motor skills in my right arm and hand, a slight foot drop with loss of balance, major fatigue, and some issues with Aphasia (mainly problems with word searching and mixing up words). I was mid-videocall with some colleagues when my first flare-up became noticeable- certainly a meeting I'll never forget.

I was lucky to be diagnosed in just a couple of weeks -following a consultation with a neurologist who kindly saw me on the spot, after I showed up two weeks early due to mixing up my dates (..thanks brain fog). Following my diagnosis, I started Kesimpta as my disease-modifying therapy, and I've also worked with physios, counselling, and a personal trainer to use my diagnosis as motivation to get into better physical and mental shape.

Following my MS diagnosis, I've participated in numerous long-distance challenges to fundraise for charities supporting those affected by Multiple Sclerosis. By setting myself these challenges, I've learnt a lot about myself. Training for these has given me the time to properly reflect on what my MS means to me, to recognise how far I've come, and to appreciate how lucky I am to have such a supportive, understanding community of family and friends around me. It's meant so much to me to have so many incredible people in my life walk, run, or hike alongside me through taking part in these challenges over the years. 

So far, these challenges have helped raise just shy of £20,000 for MS charities, which I'm hugely proud of. In 2023 and 2024, I organised teams to take part in the Keswick2Barrow, a one-day, 40-mile walkthrough the Lake District, followed by taking on the Manchester Marathon (my first ever!) in 2025. This year, I set myself an ambitious goal: taking part in a number of running and hiking challenges leading up to my first trail ultramarathon in September. 

April: "The West Highland Way" - 96 miles (154km)
In April I hiked the world-renowned West Highland Way over 5 days with some close friends. This long-distance Scottish hiking trail starts from Milngavie(near Glasgow) and ends at Fort William, with 12,000ft (3,650m) elevation gain.

May: "Keswick2Barrow" - 40 miles (64 km)
In May, I once again took on this legendary local one-day event. This year, Iran the course rather than walking it, finishing in just over 7 hours - shaving off 5.5 hours from previous years! Our "MS Stompers" team have now won the "GSK Charity Trophy" twice, awarded to the team which raises the highest amount of money for charity.

June: "10in10" - 16 miles (26 km) and 10 peaks
In June, my partner and I tackled the "10in10" challenge: climbing 10 Lake District peaks in 10 hours. This annual challenge was designed and created by Yvonne Booth in response to her husband Duncan's diagnosis with MS, as a way to help raise money for those affected by MS.

August: "The Cumbria Way" - 71 miles (112 km)
In August, my partner and I then took on a challenge we've wanted to do for years: walking the length of the Cumbria Way from North to South. We set off from Carlisle and finished at our literal front door! We spent 6 days hiking through some of the most stunning scenery in the Lake District, climbing around10,500ft (3200m) of elevation along the way.

September: "The Lap" - 47 miles (72 km)
It all led up to this! On September 12th, alongside two of my best friends, we took part in "The Lap" - my first trail ultramarathon. We had 24 hours to circumnavigate Windermere, England's largest and most iconic lake. We were delighted to complete it in just over 14 hours -especially considering this year's route had us climbing 8,530ft (2,500m) of ascent on completely ungroomed trails - in torrential rain and gusts of up to60mph!

While pushing my physical limits has taught me so much about resilience, navigating life with MS is just as much a mental journey - which is where MS Together really came in. MS Together has provided me with a community that, frankly, I didn't realise I needed at first. Following my diagnosis I found myself "pushing on" and not overly acknowledging my MS -largely because I didn't really know what it entailed.

MS Together helped me find a group of people around the same age where I not only felt much more understood but also felt safe asking personal questions or concerns without judgment. I've found MS Together's brilliant WhatsApp groups an amazing resource that I can engage with as and when I like. This has included helping me navigate disease-modifying therapy decisions, just chatting about Formula 1 with fellow fans, or sharing and getting advice on fitness within the "Exercise Together" group. I've also attended a number of curated MS Together events both online and in-person- most recently a stand-up comedy gig in Manchester! 

Beyond the daily challenges MS can throw our way, it's been massively inspiring and motivating to hear about others' challenges that they've chosen to take on since their diagnosis to raise awareness of Multiple Sclerosis. I'm so grateful for MS Together introducing me to some lovely like-minded people, our inspiring ambassadors that help prove that we are "More Than MS", and most importantly the knowledge that I'm not alone in my MS journey. 

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