March of the Day 2 finishes in Ipswich raising £140k

Louise Stewart, who took part in the 178-mile walk from Wembley to Portman Road, said that the support has given her "so much faith in humanity".

Hundreds of walkers, including ex-Ipswich footballers, took part in the event which started at Wembley on Friday before crossing the line at Portman Road on Sunday evening.

Stewart was joined by close friend and former Town captain Matt Holland (Image: Shikhar Talwar) Battling against blisters and no sleep, the team took on the 44 stages, visiting 25 football grounds to raise awareness and money for the Darby Rimmer MND Foundation. 

Stewart was diagnosed with motor neurone disease several years ago, as was Stephen Darby - the former Liverpool, Bradford City and Bolton Wanderers defender who co-founded the charity.

March of the Day was started by Marcus Stewart (left) and Stephen Darby (right) who both live with motor neurone disease (MND) (Image: March of the Day) Mrs Stewart said: "If you could bottle the comradery and sell it you would be a millionaire. When you jump off the mini-bus in the middle of the night with no sleep and barely any food, you need people to push you.

Former Ipswich Town striker Marcus Stewart (right) and his wife Louise (left) with Blues chief executive Mark Ashton (Image: Ipswich Town Football Club) "I don't know if there is another word for proud, because I am blown away by it but also I am not because the team are such amazing people, it gives you so much faith in humanity".

Former Liverpool goalkeeper Chris Kirkland joined March of the Day 2 on Saturday after the Liverpool legends game (pictured here in 2023) (Image: Oli Picton) Over the course of the weekend, the core team, which included friends and family of Stewart and Darby, had medical attention on standby if they needed it. 

Mrs Stewart added: "One chap called Chris had a huge blister and ended up pulling a few millimetres hole deep in the shower, but by far the worst was the lack of sleep.

Ipswich Town legends such as Terry Butcher and Russell Osman also took part in the walk (Image: Shikhar Talwar) "It was the hardest thing - getting to Portman Road and seeing the fans was a total blur. It was like the worst form of jet lag, your brain is there but your body is wobbly.

"A massive thank you to fans and supporters but also the club, Ipswich Town couldn't have done any more - every single member of staff was amazing."