Tackling MS, one peak at a time
The Island Games was supposed to be all glory, jubilation and triumph for Aly Kemp.
The script appeared to be already written — one of Orkney’s top athletes winning a medal in front of a euphoric home crowd on the biggest stage of all.
It was to be the crowning glory of a dream she had been chasing for years.
That was until it all came crashing down one dramatic morning in Kirkwall, leaving distance runner Aly broken, overwhelmed and fearful of the future.
Since her exit midway through the half marathon, an event in which she was one of the leading medal contenders, Aly has been on a road of a different kind, as she adapts to a “new normal”.
She did not know it then, but she does know it now, she was living with multiple sclerosis (MS).
“During the race I was sitting in a really strong position, but halfway around the second lap along the straight of Sunnybank my legs literally gave up,” explained Aly, speaking candidly to The Orcadian this week.
“It was like concrete blocks on my feet that I physically could not move and it forced me to a heap on the road.
“I knew right there and then that this was different, and this was just not normal any more.”
Aly had been experiencing significant stiffness and pain throughout her training, becoming more fatigued and emotional after sessions.
She eventually learned she had MS, the chronic neurological condition which Orkney has the highest prevalence of in the world.
From the ashes of the sudden end of her running career, she is channelling her energy into a fitness challenge of a different kind.
Almost one year to the day from her terrifying experience at the Island Games, she is now bidding to scale the three highest peaks in Scotland, England and Wales.
On July 4, Aly, alongside her coach and friend Sophie, will undertake the National Three Peaks Challenge, climbing Ben Nevis, Scafell Pike and Snowdon within 24 hours.
She is doing so to raise money for MS-UK, a charity which has been a rock at Aly’s side since her diagnosis, assisting her to navigate her new reality of living with the condition.
She has now raised close to £5,000 but she hopes more will support her in her money-raising mission.
Support Aly here.
A fuller version of this story can be found in this week’s The Orcadian.