TEEN VIKING ON TARGET TO ARRIVE IN YORK AS 130-MILE WALK IN MEMORY OF BELOVED TEACHER NEARS END

A 16-year-old Viking reenactor from Ellesmere Port in Cheshire is on target to arrive in York at the end of a gruelling 130-mile charity trek which began in the City of Chester in memory of a teacher who inspired him.

Raising money for blood cancer charity Anthony Nolan,  Ryan Olsen, a pupil at Whitby High School in Cheshire and member of Viking reenactment groups Unknown Vikings of Chester and Hearth of the Valkyrie, set off on the epic challenge on Saturday 18th July in memory of Hannah Freeman, a history teacher and fellow Viking reenactor who sadly passed away in September last year following a battle with cancer.  

Setting off from Whitby High School in Ellesmere Port and then on to Chester, the route which spans around 130 miles has been undertaken by Ryan completely on foot whilst carrying Viking equipment, including a shield and period clothing. Ryan set himself a target of reaching York within 12 days of starting his trek. His journey has seen him passing through Delamere, Wilmslow, Marple, Glossop, Penistone, Barnsley, Pontefract, Leeds and Tadcaster before finally arriving in York on Wednesday 29^th July.

Ryan is due to be greeted by family, friends and supporters as he arrives in York at the completion of his trek, when they will a gather at popular city centre bar Valhalla which has given Ryan the use of its Long Gallery, All Father Hall for his celebrations.

As part of his preparations, Ryan undertook increasingly demanding training walks, including a 23-mile walk from Waverton near Chester to Moel Famau in North Wales, his longest training walk which took him 12 hours, documenting the journey on social media as supporters followed his progress. 

Speaking about taking on the challenge in memory of the teacher whose loss had a profound impact on him, Ryan said:

"I wanted to do something that would make a real difference. Miss Freeman meant a lot to me, and this felt like a way I could honour her memory while helping other families facing blood cancer." 

Ryan added:

"Miss Freeman was the kind of teacher who believed in everyone, even when we didn’t believe in ourselves. When I started at Whitby High school, it was Miss Freeman who introduced me to my group of friends through her D&D Club. It was Miss Freeman who made boring history lessons feel like fun activities, and when she was diagnosed with cancer earlier in the year, she passed on a collection of D&D worldbuilding that she had been working on for over a decade to my friends and I, I wanted to do something to honour that gift.

Ryan's fundraising will support Anthony Nolan's work matching stem cell donors with people in need of potentially lifesaving transplants and funding research to improve transplant outcomes. 

Ryan's mother, Steph, who is helping organise the challenge, said:

"Ryan has really thrown himself into this completely. He's trained hard, planning every stage of the route and pushed himself far beyond what most teenagers would ever consider. We're all incredibly proud of what he's doing. We'd like to say big thank you to everyone who has supported Ryan along the route with places to camp, given us food, places to shower etc and to everyone who has donated so far, the support he has received has been incredible."

Supporters can follow the final stages of Ryan's journey and fundraising progress through his social media channels and fundraising page. He hopes his challenge will raise awareness of Anthony Nolan's lifesaving work while inspiring others to support the charity or consider joining the stem cell donor register. 

Anyone wishing to support Ryan in his fund-raising challenge in aid of Anthony Nolan can donate at: 

www.justgiving.com/page/ryanswalktoyork