Team's thousands of steps for Parkinson's awareness

The group is doing daily laps in Coventry’s War Memorial Park this week, to mark World Parkinson's Day

People with Parkinson's are walking tens of thousands of steps a day in a park, in order to raise awareness about the disease.

The walking group is doing laps in Coventry’s War Memorial Park every day this week, to mark World Parkinson's Day on Thursday.

Their aim is to show that people can find ways to live with the disease – and that life goes on after a diagnosis.

“Even if we only reach one person with our message, we have achieved our goal,” said Annie Muldoon, 65, who organised the event.

Ms Muldoon originally set the group a joint target of 18,000 steps per day, to highlight the number of people that are diagnosed with the disease each year, according to Parkinson's UK figures.

But they have far surpassed that target, clocking up between 60,000 and 144,000 steps a day, while wearing bright blue T-shirts and tutus so other park visitors notice their project.

'We just cheer each other on'

Many members of the group have mobility and balance issues because of Parkinson's, and they rely on walking sticks or help from their partners to move.

“The group are wonderful, wonderful people. Some of them can’t walk [easily] from their front door to their car, but they are here, walking,” Ms Muldoon said.

“We just cheer each other on.”

Ms Muldoon was diagnosed with Parkinson's in 2019 and was forced to retire early from her job at a school.

“It’s a terrible disease and it takes so much from you,” she said.

But she added that she had since found a strong community of other people living with the condition and have become like “another family”.

“[At first] you think your life is going to be over – it’s not true. Your life does go on, but in a different way,” she added.