Wigan fund-raiser puts on her walking shoes as she tackles marathon challenge

Aimee Palin has pledged to walk 26.2 miles on Saturday around Lowton, Golborne, Leigh and the surrounding area.

Along the way she will post videos on social media where she talks about mental health and the support available for people who are struggling.

The 32-year-old is taking on the challenge to raise money and awareness for Lowton-based Emotional Wellbeing Group, which was set up by her sister-in-law Anna Palin-Swift and her mother Stephanie Palin.

Aimee, who lives in Lowton with her husband, said: “I have been doing a lot of walking during the lockdown and found it helps mentally, clears my head, keeps me busy and gives me something to plan my day around. I never used to walk at all, but I have been doing quite a few long walks recently.

“It seemed a natural progression to do a marathon and resonated with what EWG are doing. It worked well together because walking has helped me so much.”

Aimee says she is feeling more confident about the challenge after tackling some long walks.

She will be joined along the way by friends and family members, who will support her as she keeps going throughout the day.

Aimee plans to begin walking at 9am and hopes to complete the marathon by 5.30pm.

While she is walking, counsellors at Emotional Wellbeing Group will be doing their own marathon challenge by working for free to provide a live online chat service for anyone needing advice or someone to talk to.

The service currently operates three days a week, with information available on its website at all times.

Aimee said: “I went through a few difficult times a long time ago. I was really lucky to be able to talk to Anna and Steph and they helped me through. The thing I think is wonderful about EWG is it’s a private chat, so there are no logs on your phone and once the conversation is done, it’s gone.

“It’s really easy to open up without worrying someone might see it if you are in a difficult position.”

Aimee aims to raise £1,000 and donations can be made at www.crowdfunder.co.uk/online-counselling-covid-support

For more information about Emotional Wellbeing Group, or for videos from Aimee’s walk, go to www.facebook.com/EWGCounselling

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