‘Just 700 more steps to go. Almost there.’
These are things I thought daily when I was doing the 10,000 step a day challenge in February 2021.
I was beyond excited to participate in a charity step challenge and while I may have never done one before and wasn’t in the best of shape, I still wanted to do it – to raise funds for The Brain Tumour Charity, so that we can be one step closer to finding a cure for brain tumours. Something, for obvious reasons, a cause that is close to my heart.

On a side note though, a week before starting the 10,000 step a day in February challenge, I had actually taken a pretty bad fall when I was getting out of the shower.
As I was getting out of the shower the floor had been wet because I had cleaned the floor right before hopping in the shower, and when I went to get out of the shower, the rug slipped from under my feet and I went head first into the toilet. Thank God I was okay and that fall didn’t do anything to my shunt.
While it was a pretty painful fall and I was shook up for the first day or so, although I was still determined to stick to the plan – to achieve my goal of 10,000 step a day in February whilst attempting to raise £300 for the Brain Tumour Research charity.
Ready for the challenge!

I’m not going to lie, the first week was rough.
As I was still recovering from that crazy fall and back and forth with self isolation because of the pandemic, I decided to try to get all my steps in by hopping on the treadmill throughout the day.
Quick 10 minute run this morning on Day 3 for the @braintumourrsch challenge!
— Jessica Noel Quinlan (@JournoJessiq) February 3, 2021
As I live with a brain tumour daily myself, I understand how it can have an impact on the quality of life.
Please help me in my efforts to find a cure!!! 👇🏻https://t.co/mtvXBfGwZM pic.twitter.com/dAIqQDan2r
Turns out, that’s actually harder than you might think. I was finding that it was really difficult to achieve my 10,000 steps a day challenge the first week while only utilising my treadmill. So I decided to switch it up and add going for walks with my husband to parks near by to reach and achieve my 10,000 step a day challenge. As soon as we started doing this, I found that I was easily hitting my 10,000 step a day goal!
Managed to meet my 10,000 step goal yesterday for the @braintumourrsch challenge - daily walk with the hubs, plus a 30 minute run on the treadmill!!!😁🙌🏻🙌🏻🙌🏻😁
— Jessica Noel Quinlan (@JournoJessiq) February 13, 2021
Let's find a cure for brain tumours y'all!!! 💪🏻🧠👊🏻
Donate today if you can!!! 👇🏻👀https://t.co/mtvXBfGwZM pic.twitter.com/As3aFTVCgh
Anytime I noticed I was getting behind in my 10,000 step a day goal, I hopped on the treadmill just to get more steps in so that I could end my day more successfully.
Participating in the 10,000 Steps A Day Challenge for the month of February for @braintumourrsch !
— Jessica Noel Quinlan (@JournoJessiq) February 2, 2021
My purpose: to raise awareness and funds.
Brain tumours are indiscriminate; they can affect anyone at any age.
Follow me on this journey at 👉🏻 https://t.co/mtvXBfGwZM pic.twitter.com/PeV2XTqSAh
It got challenging in the middle of my 10,000 step a day challenge, because I was offered my first jab for the Covid-19 vaccine. This had been something I was anxiously waiting on, so I of course jumped on this opportunity so that I could be more protected during this crazy pandemic we are all living in.
On the other hand, I was worried that I would have side affects which could affect my 10,000 step a day challenge, but fortunately I got the best case scenario side affects from the vaccine. However, it did make it all the more challenging to achieve my 10,000 step a day challenge, because I was extremely fatigued the first few days after getting my 1st Covid-19 jab.

All in all though, it was a terrific experience! I felt so proud that I was able to participate and raise money for a charity that is trying their best to improve those who have affected by brain tumour(s).
Looking ahead, I have already decided that I do plan on participating in the next 10,000 step a day challenge of February 2022. Additionally, I also hope to double my original goal and hopefully will succeed by doubling my goal to £600 for the 10,000 step a day challenge for The Brain Tumour Research charity. Hopefully the more effort that goes into research for a cure for brain tumours the closer we can be to finding a cure for brain tumours.

By Jessica Quinlan, Freelance Journalist Updated 30 November 2021