England Athletics Chair Gary Shaughnessy to take part in 30 sports in 30 days challenge

Chair of England Athletics, Gary Shaughnessy CBE, has set himself the challenge of taking part in 30 sports in 30 days in September, including the likes of bowling and kayaking, sailing and golf, dance and trampolining.

Three of the days will see Gary visit England Athletics-affiliated clubs - he'll try out wheelchair racing on 15 September at Sutton & District Athletics Club, track running on 18 September at Newbury Athletics Club, and hammer throwing on 25 September at Winchester Athletics Track.

Gary was diagnosed with Parkinson’s in 2015, at the age of 48, leaving him with an outlook of long-term decline.

He told us more about living with the condition, the symptoms, and the stigma around it:

“Parkinson's is an unusual condition. Many people are touched by it, have relatives with it and so on, but still many people don't know much about the condition. The traditional image is of an old man shaking, and tremors do affect about three quarters of those with the condition.

“However many don't have a tremor and have a variety of the 48+ symptoms. Many people are still of working age when diagnosed. For example , I was 48 when I was diagnosed, and a near friend was in her 30s and had recently given birth to twins when she was diagnosed. 

“The condition is also very variable. People can be surprised that the person that was laughing and joking just a few hours, before now has the masked face that is characteristic of Parkinson's and may even appear to close down.

“Stress seems to be a very negative force for people with Parkinson's. People can suffer with painful cramps, balance problems, loss of confidence , sleep disturbances, hallucinations, memory issues, speech and vocal challenges , cognitive problems and more. 

“Stigma can also be a problem. It's called a disease, but you can't catch it from us! Most people are brilliant with me - being empathetic not sympathetic, however, and the more people know, the better it will be!”

A new outlook

A couple of months into living with the condition, his wife, Janet, persuaded him to ‘focus on what you can do, not what you can’t’, and a Parkinson’s nurse told him that sport and exercise can actually slow the progress of the condition.

Since then, Gary has worked hard to get fit and raise awareness of the benefits of sport and exercise for people living with Parkinson’s.

He has now run 60 marathons, including 10 in 10 days last year, become a long-distance three-legged world record holder, and taken on the ‘Arch to Arc’ super triathlon.

This year, Gary is trying to reinforce the message that almost anyone can exercise and benefit from it, leading to this 30 sports in 30 days challenge:

“I've recognised that the marathons and the extreme events that I do can feel unrealistic to many who have the condition, so I want to get the message that almost all exercise is good and that if you enjoy it, you will keep doing it.”

Raising awareness

Gary is keen to use his platform as Chair of England Athletics to highlight great causes such as raising awareness of Parkinson’s:

“My role gives me the opportunity to understand much more about how powerful sport can be for both physical and mental health and to recognise the role of cornerstone sports like athletics.

“I have the chance to use my experience to benefit the sport and to use what I learn from people in the sport to benefit others. My position gives me a voice and it's important that I use that wisely.”

The advice that the Parkinson’s nurse gave Gary about exercising to slow the progress of his condition has had not only physical benefits, but has also helped him in terms of his mentality:

“That information was really helpful in its own right but the benefit has been much deeper. By exercising, I am taking back some control from Parkinson's. It's a relentless condition but I can and must push back on it.

“I’ve been fortunate to have had a wonderful decade despite the condition, and have met many inspirational people - in the Parkinson's community, in sport, everywhere. For me, this created my motto – ‘Live Life, Love Life, Beat Parkinson's’.”