MORE THAN 300 people welcomed two dedicated trekkers home from a 560-kilometre walk as their fundraising total topped an incredible £25,000.
Lee McAllister and Paul ‘Ratty’ Ratcliffe walked from Plymouth to Oldham in just 10 days in memory of their friend Ricky Casey, who died after living with a rare kidney cancer in 2019.
Ricky, who was a fireman and devout Manchester United fan, would have been 56 this year. So, the pair walked 10km for each year – roughly 380 miles in total – before ending at Springhead Football Club on Saturday, August 22.
And the scenes as they returned justified why they did it.
“I’m just feeling a sense of relief more than anything else,” Lee told the Saddleworth Independent.
“You can see how many people are here and how many have contributed towards the charity, so it’s a relief to make it.
“There were times during the walk where we thought we might not be able to do it because of how difficult of a challenge it was.
“Rick would probably be as embarrassed as we are [at the number of people who showed up. It’s all about raising the money and we’ve done that, and it’s amazing to see so many people come and give their support.”
The pair set off from Plymouth on Thursday, August 13, and travelled from football stadium to football stadium in Ricky’s honour.
Along the way, Lee and Paul said they were “blown away” by the support from the people they encountered along the way, which they said they never could have expected.
“We had to walk to this bed and breakfast in the middle of nowhere, and it was a 10-mile walk,” said Paul.
“We didn’t see anybody for two hours, then all of a sudden we saw this old church building with two people having a barbecue outside.
“I went over with two bottles of water to fill up, had a drink for a few hours, and they were asking us about the charity – this woman just took over.
“She went over to the back and asked everybody for money, and she gave us a couple of hundred quid. All we wanted was water!”
Ricky was only 49 when he passed away from renal medullary carcinoma, or RMC, a rare and aggressive form of cancer which grows in the kidneys.
While rare, RMC is most common in males and people of African descent, and is most often seen in young people and teenagers. Those with sickle cell trait are at particular risk.
Its main symptoms include blood in the urine, a lump in the abdomen, and fevers or night sweats. For those diagnosed with stage 1-3 RMC, the average survival rate is only 18 months – though more than 70 per cent of patients are only diagnosed at stage four.
After his passing, his wife Nicola took it upon herself to found the Ricky Casey Trust in his memory, which would become the UK’s first dedicated RMC charity.
It works with patients, doctors, and supporters around the world to raise awareness of the disease, as well as fundraise for research, medical equipment, and treatment for individual patients.
Saturday’s welcome event saw a DJ, late bar, bouncy castle, and alive performance from the Two Connors for guests.
Between it and the fundraising walk itself, the Ricky Casey Trust has now raised more than £25,000 for their cause.
“It was a bit mad seeing them both in real life,” said Nicola.
“We had a really emotional walk up from Manchester United’s ground, then called in at Rick’s fire station on the way home – they’ve still got all his stuff in there.
“Rick was quite well known for sitting on the couch with his remote control, so they’ve sprayed the remote control gold and put it beside the TV. They’ve got a plaque that you’d normally get when you retire, and they’ve done a calendar.
“I’ve not been in the station since Rick was ill, so it was quite a big thing really. I thought I’d be fine, but it was so emotional.
“I can’t believe there are that many here. This is the first charity event since Rick passed away, and even when he was poorly and had big events, it’s always rained.
“It’s rained every single event, and now it’s sunny. Maybe things are changing – do you know what I mean?”
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