Bereaved dad completes 120-mile nonstop walk in memory of his stillborn daughter

The father set off at 6am on Saturday 12 July and walked through two days and one night without rest, finishing the challenge at 5pm on Sunday 13 July — an exhausting 35-hour journey on foot in high temperatures.

Every step was powered by love for his daughter Kallipateira, who was stillborn at 37 weeks in October 2018. Her death was preventable.

Ben was supported throughout by his partner Gaynor, who drove the support vehicle. He finished at the doors of Saint Mary’s Hospital in Manchester, home to the research team he’s fundraising for, led by Professor Alexander Heazell.

"This weekend has shown that because of love, anything is possible," said Ben Moorhouse.

"When I was in pain or going through the motions, I thought of Kallipateira. Her memory gave me strength. This is about saving babies’ lives, and I will never stop fighting."

I made her a promise that as a dad, I would do a proud to not only help other parents and mainly other dads because we are treated very differently, but it was my duty as her father to help save other babies lives."

Despite already surpassing his £10,000 fundraising target, Moorhouse is urging the public to continue supporting him as he now prepares for his second extreme challenge, which begins less than six hours after landing in Greece — a high-risk mountain endurance effort on Sunday 20 July.

Moorhouse will climb the mountain road of the Prophet Elias Monastery in Rhodes a total of 50 times, pushing himself once again to the limit in memory of his daughter and to save other families from experiencing the same heartbreak.

All donations go directly to The Kallipateira Moorhouse Foundation, founded by Ben Moorhouse and his partner Gaynor Thompson. It funds groundbreaking research at the Rainbow Clinic into stillbirth prevention and specialist care for families.

In 2020, Ben and Gaynor's son Apollon was born safely at Tommy’s Rainbow Clinic, thanks to the specialist care of Professor Alex Heazell.

Ben has since taken on multiple extreme solo fundraising feats.

Professor Alex Heazell, who is also Professor of Obstetrics at The University of Manchester and Honorary Consultant Obstetrician at Saint Mary’s Hospital, said: “Ben’s strength, commitment and resilience are extraordinary. He honours his daughter and inspires others while raising critical awareness and funding to save babies' lives.”

Every day in the UK, eight babies are stillborn, many of which are preventable.

About one in every 250 birth results in a stillbirth, which is defined as when a baby is born dead after 24 weeks of pregnancy, according to the NHS. To support Ben’s Mission donate now HERE.