Woman takes on 'epic' river challenge for MS funds

Pippa Marshall got lost, tackled heavy undergrowth and was bitten by a dog during her latest challenge

A fundraiser has completed an "epic adventure" by walking, cycling and swimming 55km (34 miles) along the River Camel to raise awareness of multiple sclerosis in memory of her mother.

It was part of 70 challenges Pippa Marshall, from Wadebridge, set herself to carry out to honour her mother Carol who was diagnosed with MS when she was just 19 and gradually lost her mobility as the illness worsened.

Pippa said the physical challenge was tough and she got lost on the way, adding to her mileage, and she had to ensure she caught the tide to complete it.

"It was hot, at the end of the walk I could barely put one foot in front of the other. But, after this, there's nothing I can't do," she said.

She said: "I went off track a couple times, got bitten by dog and had to bash my way through unkempt pathways full of brambles and nettles."

Pippa cycled 12km (7.5 miles) of the Camel Trail in 30 minutes before spending three hours swimming 10km (6.2 miles) to Padstow in force 5 wind and finished the adventure in 10.5 hours.

She has also chosen challenges including skydiving and singing in public to highlight MS and also celebrate movement "that able-bodied people take for granted".

Pippa said she took on the River Camel adventure as she and her mother grew up alongside the waterway.

Pippa said she was inspired by her mother Carol's stubbornness to challenge herself

She said: "Mum watched the steam trains from her bedroom window as a child, and I walked and cycled along it countless times.

"Whilst MS took its toll on mum and her life became very small, it meant my caring duties ramped up and somewhere along the way I forgot who mum was under the heavy veil of MS.

"The River Camel transcends all of that, entwining our past with my present and I hope to remind myself that mum lives on, through me."

Carol Marshall died in 2016, aged 63.

Pippa picked 70 challenges to mark what would have been her mother's 70th birthday and has given herself two years to work through them.

She has 15 more challenges to tick off, including some more walks.

So far she has raised more than £3,000 towards her £4,000 target for the MS Society.