“It had to be something I wasn't sure I could do”: Tom takes on 184 miles for MND

Tom Spearman is preparing to run the entire length of the River Thames in one continuous effort this October, in a bid to raise £50,000 for us after his mum Elisa was diagnosed with motor neuron disease (MND).

The challenge will see Tom take on 184 miles in one go - the equivalent of seven marathons back-to-back - and he has already raised more than £40,000 through the support of friends, family and the wider community.

For Tom, the scale of the challenge is important.

“I've always enjoyed running, but I've never seriously done it, I've just done it for fun,” he said. “So in many ways this is a really new and uncomfortable thing for me to do - to publicly commit to doing something so big, to ask people for help, and to take on something that is beyond what I think I'm capable of."

Originally from Wiltshire in southwest England, Tom grew up on a family farm before spending six years living and working in Asia, including several years in Japan.

He returned to the UK last year, and not long afterwards learned that his mum had been diagnosed with MND after first experiencing symptoms around Christmas 2024.

Speaking about his mum, Tom said: "Just by the number of people who've come forward and wanted to donate to the fundraiser, I think that reflects on how many people know her, and love her, and consider her a friend."

Elisa has lived in the same community her whole life, having built a successful curtain-making business from her home, which she started when she was just 21-years-old.

"She started making dresses and then she made a pair of curtains," Tom explained, "and for the last 40 years she's been making curtains in the room by the side of our house for all sorts of people. It's been an amazing little business she set up."

Tom also describes Elisa as someone who remains positive, active and determined, despite her diagnosis.

"She's always super positive and outdoorsy. She loves to ride horses and cycles – she's still cycling to the hospital every fortnight! My friend said she's probably the only person with MND cycling to the hospital, which is pretty impressive."

At first, Tom admits he found it difficult to fully face up to what Elisa's diagnosis meant.

“I didn't really engage with the illness at first,” he said. “I didn't learn much about it and, for quite a long time, I didn't really want to know what it was going to mean.”

However, his fundraising journey has changed that.

“Going through this fundraising, speaking to people about MND and meeting other fundraisers - it's been really valuable for me to learn more about MND,” Tom said.

“Although it's tempting to ignore it, and I was able to while my mum's symptoms weren't so severe, you can't avoid it. I need to understand what it is, and I think raising awareness broadly is another powerful tool for helping tackle the disease.”

There is also a stark contrast at the heart of his challenge. Tom has deliberately chosen this enormous test of physical endurance to raise money against a disease that progressively takes a person’s physical capability away.

Tom's support for My Name'5 Doddie Foundation has stemmed from seeing the efforts of high-profile campaigners, as well as wanting to play his own part in helping us work towards a world free of MND.

"I'm really inspired by what Lewis Moody and other well-known fundraisers have been doing," he said. "Through meeting other people with MND and obviously seeing firsthand with my mum and as her condition deteriorates, I've learned what an awful disease this is, and we don't have a cure yet."

The idea for Tom's challenge grew from another important part of his life: rivers.

Since returning to Wiltshire he has become involved in local river campaigning, working to improve river health and water quality and encouraging more people to reconnect with their local waterways.

“I think rivers are a way of connecting different people,” he said. “In a rural community, it's a great way of one village having some kind of relationship with another village.”

Earlier this year, Tom joined a group pilgrimage along the Bristol Avon, where dozens of people travelled the length of the river together.

“It was really nice to share that journey along the river,” he said. “So I've kind of copied that idea - but obviously the Thames is a bit longer than the Bristol Avon!

“I'm using the River Thames as a way of connecting to my friends and my past at Oxford and London, and my home in the Cotswolds.”

Tom expects to be on the move for around 40 hours to complete the 184 miles. He will have a support team helping to keep him fuelled and moving throughout, and friends will join him for sections of the route.

“I'm not going to manage by myself,” Tom said.

“I'm totally dependent on a support crew who are going to feed me throughout the 40 hours, and I've got about 30 people who have volunteered to run already.

“So I should have two or three people with me at all times when I'm running, which will be amazing. I definitely couldn't do it without that.”

With the challenge drawing ever closer, raising as much money as possible for MND research has become a major focus for Tom, alongside his training and spending time with family.

“Organising and fundraising for the challenge has sort of become my day job at the minute,” Tom explained. “It's been my main focus for the past couple of weeks, which has been fun and challenging in different ways.”

Despite the seriousness behind the challenge, Tom admits the idea initially developed without him quite appreciating what he had committed himself to.

“I felt like it would be a fun idea without really realising how long it was! Then things escalated to the point where it was too late to drop out of doing it.

“But I'm going to finish it, I'm sure of that,” he stated.

“The advice I've been given is it's mostly all in your mind - so as long as you don't allow yourself any excuses. And you can walk, you can always walk.

“I think I'm just going to give myself no option but to finish. I hope with all the support and all the money that people have donated, I won't have any escape route.”

Tom's Thames Path challenge has also created a way for him to openly talk about MND and the reality of it.

"It's been a learning experience that it's never a bad thing to connect to people, reach out, and to not be afraid of that and not keep these things hidden too much.”

As Tom prepares to take on the 184 miles of the River Thames path, his fundraising journey has so far shown him how people can rally together to support those affected by MND, highlighting just how important community and connection is.

You can follow Tom’s run live on 10-11 October through his challenge website here: tigertakesonthethames.com

If Tom's story has got you thinking about how you can do your own bit and raise funds for MND research, then visit our Take Action page here.