Walking took Sally Orr in a whole new direction

THERE was a time when Sally Orr couldn’t walk two miles without gasping for breath. Someone who’d always hated gym, she was the last person to suggest a brisk walk in the fresh air.

Now the Paisley-born head of PR and communications for Walk the Walk, the breast cancer charity that raises money and awareness with walking challenges, thinks nothing of donning trainers and setting out on a marathon, or several.

“I was always very unco-ordinated at school and avoided gym if I could. Then one day I was watching Lorraine Kelly at breakfast time and Nina Barough was on talking about the MoonWalk. She talked about the HalfMoon marathon of 13 miles and I thought, ‘I could do that’. I went out with a friend and managed two miles. The thought of another two was horrible. But I kept going and managed four, then did the HalfMoon. After that I wanted to do the full one.”

Orr had signed up for a full marathon walk in Disneyworld when she got a call from Nina herself. She lived close to Orr in Reading and suggested they travel and walk together.

“We talked all the way to New York. We were the same age and had the same outlook and our friendship was cemented over buying mascara when we got to the airport in New York. On the plane back, she asked if I’d work with her on Walk the Walk. I was wary about an office environment as till then I’d been looking after my kids and doing a little promotions, so I said I’d do it for a week.”

That was nine years ago. Today Orr is responsible for promoting MoonWalks in London, Edinburgh and Iceland, and attracting fundraising teams to various Walk the Walk challenges worldwide, from the New York City marathon to the Nijmegen Marches in The Netherlands, which involve walking 40k or 50k a day over four consecutive days. Orr takes part in many of these walks herself. “I’m fitter now because I train, but I still struggle with my weight. I eat too much,” she laughs.

A particular high, both career and literal was when Orr joined a team on the Inca Trail, from Cusco to Machu Picchu in the Peruvian Andes.

“There were a dozen of us, all gobby women, even with a bit of altitude sickness. The Inca Trail changes people’s lives because it’s a challenge and you have time to think and reflect.”

At her Woking base, Orr is limbering up for this year’s Edinburgh MoonWalk. An expected 8,000 participants will step out from Leith Links on the night of 8 June. The Edinburgh Walk and related events have raised £15m over the last seven years. This year sponsors include Lothian Buses, Jenners, and Tyrrells. The first New Moon will be introduced – a 6.6-mile quarter marathon, for walkers aged ten upwards, plus a sleepover event with film shows and popcorn, as well as the 52.4-mile Over the Moon double marathon.

“I’m so proud of being able to work on the Scottish MoonWalk. Most of the money raised here stays here and we were principal funders of the Maggie’s at Gartnavel Hospital in Glasgow and Maggie’s Falkirk. We have put scalp coolers in hospitals from Shetland to the Borders, and renovated the breast cancer institute and ward in Edinburgh Western General Hospital. The charity as a whole has raised £83m for breast cancer services since Nina started it 15 years ago”.

Orr had personal experience of what Maggie’s provides when her father was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer and she accompanied him to his chemotherapy at Gartnavel Hospital.

“I went with him for his first chemo treatment, then we went over the road to Maggie’s – it was the opening day. It was a weird coincidence, like it was meant to be.

“Walking has changed my life. It’s empowering. I’m fitter, more confident, I’ve travelled, and met amazing people. If I met my younger self, I would say to her, ‘Bloody exercise more’.”

Twitter: @JanetChristie2

MoonWalk Edinburgh, 8 June (www.walkthewalk.org). Scotland on Sunday is once again proud to be partner of this year’s Edinburgh MoonWalk