TEEN VIKING PREPARES FOR 100-MILE WALK IN MEMORY OF BELOVED TEACHER

A 16-year-old Viking reenactor from Ellesmere Port is preparing to walk more than 100 miles from Chester to York in memory of a teacher who inspired him, raising money for a blood cancer charity Anthony Nolan along the way.

Ryan Olsen, a pupil at Whitby High School and member of local Viking reenactment groups Unknown Vikings of Chester and Hearth of the Valkyrie, will undertake the gruelling 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 over 100 miles is being undertaken by Ryan completely on foot whilst carrying Viking equipment, including a shield and period clothing. Ryan has set himself a target of reaching York within 12 days of starting his trek. His journey will see him passing through Delamere, Wilmslow, Marple, Glossop, Penistone, Barnsley, Pontefract, Leeds and Tadcaster before finally arriving in York. 

As part of his preparations, Ryan has been tackling increasingly demanding training walks. Last month, he completed a 23-mile walk from Waverton near Chester to Moel Famau in North Wales, his longest training walk to date, taking 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 training hard, planning every stage of the route and pushing himself far beyond what most teenagers would ever consider. We're all incredibly proud of what he's doing." 

Supporters can follow Ryan's journey, training updates 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