WoW Rules of the road

When walking with people who do not have McArdle Disease it is very easy for us to damage ourselves as we do not want to hold people back, make a fuss, etc. This especially applies if the other people do not know about our McArdle's. Even though we know we have to say something, we sub-consciously suppress that and do too much, go those few yards too far before stopping. The result is a painful muscle cramp which can last for hours or days. If it is severe it can make us feel very unwell and even land us in hospital.

This is the first time that any group of people with McArdle's has attempted such a walk. All the walkers on WoW need to protect themselves from possible muscle damage. The key to this is good techniques, but first there are some rules we need to stick to.

• Always walk at the pace of the slowest person.
• If someone else stops, just carry on slowly, unless...
• If you are the last person, then stop with other person.
• Never mention the stop, just talk about something else.
• The people in front should watch out for those behind and slow down, so as not to put pressure on them to keep up.
• If the group has spread out more than 150 yards or so, call out for all to stop.
• Usually 30 seconds rest is enough for the pain to dissipate, but if the person does not wish to continue after that the group will take a 5 minute break.
• We will anyway stop frequently for short breaks.
• If anyone needs to we will all abandon the day's walk and get to the nearest pick up point.
• The leader's decision is final!

The more that those of us with McArdle's walk the more we get to understand our muscles, to know the signs, to know what we can do and can't do, to know how to avoid problems. I believe that by walking in this group we will similarly learn about the group dynamics and will be able to pass these lessons on to others.

Andrew Wakelin