45 Miles for Mind in memory of Sean Smith

Sean's family decided to channel their grief into supporting Mind in hopes that they can help fight the fight against mental health.

Previously taking on The Great South Run in 2023 raising a total of £1,646 and Tough Mudder London in 2024 raising a total of £1,113, this year they decided to mark what would have been Sean's 45th birthday with a 45 mile walk, starting at Sean's birthplace, Poole Hospital to Westbury - The White Horse on the hill.

The White Horse on the hill is a landmark that Sean and his family would pass on memorable trips to visit his grandparents as a child - treasured memories for Sean and his family.

Sean had passed through Westbury and photographed the White Horse on a trip with his son and greatest achievement, Tom. The photo was taken only a few months before Sean's passing captioned "Quick stop in Westbury. Spotted a landmark from a million car rides with my sisters as kids".

Sean's sisters Nadine and Natasha came up with the idea of walking 45 miles and just out of curiosity typed "walking from Poole to Westbury" into a search engine and as fate would have it, it was 45 miles.

Although Sean was born in Poole, he grew up in Gosport and as an adult lived in Portsmouth but it seemed only right to start where it all began.

Sean's father, Greg and step-sister Georgia agreed to join Nadine and Natasha's mammoth plan.

On September 26th 2025 Nadine, Natasha, Greg and Georgia set off at 8.39pm from Poole Hospital walking through the night and through to Saturday afternoon.

They were met at various points by Penny and Graham Ferguson who were route planners, kept them fed and watered, patched blisters, had spare socks at the ready and cheered them on with love and encouragement from start to finish.

They couldn't have done it without them.

The walk took a total of 18 hours and 4 minutes with 17 hours and 53 minutes of that being walking time. With an average speed on 2.5mph it was scenic, painful and emotional but every step was worth it.

The walk has so far raised an incredible £1,391 for Mind with more donations on the way. There is still plenty of time to donate via the link: memoryspace.mind.org.uk/MyPage/45-Miles-for-Mind.

Sean's family will continue to fundraise every year for Mind keeping his memory alive and fighting the fight on Mental Health.