Compton couple walking 100km Race to the Stones for Alzheimer’s Society and Alzheimer’s Research UK

Two Compton residents are walking 100km over two days to support Alzheimer’s charities after one of their mothers passed away while suffering from the condition.

Chantal Cornelius, 51, and her partner William Buist, 63, are taking part in this year’s Race to the Stones, an ultramarathon that starts in Lewknor, Oxfordshire, on Saturday, goes along part of the Ridgeway, and ends at the Avebury Stone Circle on Sunday.

Ms Cornelius’ mother suffered with Alzheimer’s and passed away nearly five years ago, and so the pair are taking part in the 100km walking challenge to raise money for the Alzheimer’s Society and Alzheimer’s Research UK and raise awareness about the condition.

Ms Cornelius, a marketing consultant, said she was “nervous and excited” for the walk.

“We’ve put in a lot of effort. Most of our weekends for the last couple of months have been taken up with walking and not much else,” she said.

“It wasn’t until we started the training in March that we realised what we had let ourselves in for.

“We have walked nearly 400 miles in training so I think we’re ready. I hope we are.”

The pair signed up for the Race to the Stones near the end of last year after they walked a half-marathon last September and really enjoyed it.

The half-marathon route was from Salisbury to Stonehenge and back again, and was organised by the Alzheimer’s Society. Ms Cornelius and Mr Buist decided to take part after seeing an advert for it in Facebook.

Although a key focus for the pair is raising money for the two charities, they also want to raise awareness about the terminal illness.

Ms Cornelius said: “One friend of mine, her mum’s got Alzheimer’s. We had a long chat about it and the support that she’s looking for, so it’s as much about raising awareness as it is raising funds because it’s a hideous disease. It’s horrid.”

Ms Cornelius also said that doing the walk to raise awareness was a great motivator when the going gets tough.

“It gives you something else to walk for as well. On the days when you’re struggling or you’ve got a blister or you’re feeling tired, you think ‘why am I doing this?’ and you realise it’s because you’re raising money for people who suffer just like my mum did.

“It really keeps you going; that and jelly babies!”

Ms Cornelius and Mr Buist, a business mentor, also see the training and the challenge of the marathon itself as a great way to keep fit.

Mr Buist wishes to be able to ski on his 80th birthday, so he hopes his and his partner’s marathon-length walks will help him achieve that goal.

The pair have currently raised nearly £1,300 for the two Alzheimer’s charities and you can donate to their fundraisers at https://bit.ly/3y6EnUQ and here https://bit.ly/3R1JBtL

They will be taking part in the Race to the Stones this weekend and are hoping to pass through Compton at the top of Churn Road at around 3.30pm on Saturday.