Lucy and Gynette’s “7 Ultras" in 7 days!

Posted on April 30, 2024 by breast cancer charity Walk the Walk

Two of our INCREDIBLE Walkers, Gynette and Lucy, will be walking from North Wales to London for breast cancer.

Fundraisers Lucy Cummins and Gynette Janney are walking from North Wales to London in just seven days.

Extraordinary fundraisers and avid Walk the Walkers Lucy Cummins (56, from Maylandsea in Essex) and Gynette Janney (51, from Hawarden in Flintshire) are taking on the challenge of a lifetime, walking 260 miles from North Wales to London in just seven days.

The incredible duo are aiming to raise thousands of pounds for us... Since they started supporting Walk the Walk, Lucy and Gynette have already raised over a staggering £100,000 between them. Together, they have already made such a huge difference to those living with cancer.

The “7 Ultras in 7 Days” will see Lucy and Gynette leave Saltney in Flintshire, near Gynette’s home on Sunday 12th May, to walk to the capital. They will cover at least 37 miles, every single day. The final leg of their unique challenge will see them take on the Full Moon (26.2 miles) at the iconic overnight fundraising event the MoonWalk London on Saturday 18th May, plus not forgetting the sneaky new 5K ZOOM WALK event taking place the morning of the 18th May.

They met each other for the first time at a long-distance walking event in 2013 and have been friends ever since.

7 Ultras Challenge Schedule...

These friends and Walk the Walk Fundraisers inspire us, so we will follow them each day and share on our social... keep your eyes peeled to stay up to date!

Below we have their planned daily route, are they anywhere near you? How amazing if they pass through your neighbourhood and lots of Walk the Walkers meet up with them to give them a cheer, hug or high-five to help them on their way. Perhaps you will walk part of the way with them... or you'll get a quick pic and let them keep going with the tough but incredible mission they have taken on!

Check out their routes below and let us know on our social if you plan to catch a glimpse of them on their travels!

Sun 12 May | Saltney, North Wales to Market Drayton, Shropshire | 37 Miles - Day 1 route here

Mon 13 May | Market Drayton to Smethwick, West Midlands | 37.6 miles - Day 2 route here

Tue 14 May | Smethwick to Ufton, Warwickshire | 37 miles - Day 3 route here

Wed 15 May |Ufton to Towcester, Northamptonshire | 37 miles - Day 4 route here

Thu 16 May |Towcester to Berkhamsted, Hertfordshire | 37 miles - Day 5 route here

Fri 17 May |Berkhamsted to Chiswick, London | 37 miles - Day 6 route here

Sat 18 May | Chiswick to Clapham Common, London. Followed by Walk the Walk’s 5K Zoom Walk. Finally, the Full Moon (26.2 miles) at The MoonWalk London | 37 miles - Day 7 route here

How can you support them further?

If you want to help support them and let them know you are behind them you can make a donation to them here.

Plus, they have a fab raffle with some Walk the Walk goodies as a prize that you might be interested in... take a look HERE!

Find out more about Lucy and Gynette...

Lucy Cummins says:

“Over the last two decades, walking has become such a huge part of my life. I can’t wait to take on my biggest challenge yet with my amazing walking friend Gynette Janney. Once again, we’ll be raising money for MoonWalk organisers, the wonderful breast cancer charity Walk the Walk, a cause very close to my heart, after I lost my big sister to the disease eight years ago. Gynette and I have an incredible friendship and I’m sure that this will help us - we walk together brilliantly and chat constantly. Walking such a long way is going to be a huge achievement, but my approach is simply going to be that I’ll put one foot in front of the other, for quite a long time! As a challenge, I feel it’s doable and if I can raise even more money for the wonderful charity Walk the Walk, it’ll be totally fabulous!

We’re starting our 7 Ultras challenge near where Gynette lives in North Wales on 12^th May and walking to London, to take on the 26.2 miles at The MoonWalk London 2024 as the final leg of our challenge on Saturday 18^th May. We’ll walk a total of 260 miles over a week, covering between 35-40 miles each day. My inspiration was the 7 Ultras challenge which former rugby league player Kevin Sinfield recently took on to raise money for his close friend Rob Burrow. I mentioned the idea for our challenge to Gynette, who said she’d love to join me for the whole thing!

In total so far, I’ve completed 62 full marathons, 29 ultra-marathons, the Njmegen Marches three times and the Camino once. I’ve even combined marathons with holidays abroad with my lovely husband and supporter Andy. A lot of the marathons I do are running events which I walk very quickly! Andy and I have been to some amazing places – I’ve done marathons in Prague, Athens, Paris, Venice, Vienna, Rome, Porto and Madeira. I remember wading through shin-high water during the last 5km in Venice!

Because Gynette lives in North Wales and I’m in Essex , we don’t get to see each other very often, apart from at walking events, and we don’t get to train together. We’re long-distance friends who just click and when we’re together, it’s extra special. She is such a thoughtful person and we’re always there for each other."

Gynette Janney says:

“I’m really excited about taking on this huge challenge and feeling very positive about it! We’ve both done other multi day walking events previously, but obviously this one is a bit of step up. I’ve learnt over the years about what I need to eat and drink to keep my body working each day at such high levels and for such long distances. Being stubborn certainly helps too, when you have to be in the mindset of finishing one very long walk, then getting up the next morning and doing it again. Then again and again!

My walking journey started way back in 2001, when I completed the Full Moon (26.2 miles) at The MoonWalk London, organised by breast cancer charity Walk the Walk. I’d actually always wanted to take on the London Marathon, but to be honest, I didn’t want to run it. I happened to read an article in a health magazine about The MoonWalk and thought it sounded perfect. I mentioned it to my friend Clare, who I’d also recently discovered wanted to do the London Marathon. We signed up for The MoonWalk, and the rest, as they say, is history!

I absolutely love the fitness benefits which walking brings too. I’ve never been a gym bunny – even though there’s a gym in the Springfield Hotel and Health Club, which I own and run. The gym just isn’t for me! I generally tend to walk around five times a week and depending on what I’m training for, the walks get much longer. For instance, If I’m training for the London to Brighton challenge, I’ll walk up to 40 miles in one session. I always train on my own and mix up my walks with both flat walks and hill training. The hill training is really good, even when you’re training for a flat marathon, as it helps to build your stamina. Walking also gives me such wonderful headspace.

Walking is a huge part of my life and I have no plans to stop any time soon! I’m going to keep going until I drop. Like the 7 Ultras in 7 Days, there are always new challenges to take on and I’m thrilled that I did get to complete my original goal of completing the London Marathon – I’ve now done it four times. One day – perhaps when I retire - I’d really like to walk from Land’s End to John O’Groats, which is around 850 miles. I love to keep on challenging myself!”