Man on million-step football walk wants company

A Luton Town fan has invited supporters to join him on his fundraising challenge to walk a million steps between football grounds.

Before the Hatters' Saturday match against Millwall, Mark Crowther walked the 19 miles from his house in Milton Keynes to Kenilworth Road in Luton.

Over the past three years the 58-year-old cycled to grounds his team played at and raised £38,000 for charity in the process. For 2025 he has decided to swap two wheels for two legs.

Mr Crowther, who took just under six hours to complete his walk on Saturday, said: "There's a lot of thinking time. It'll be a pleasure to have company. I want people to come walk with me, if they're up for spending all that time with me."

He has appealed for people to join him on 23 February, when he will trek to Vicarage Road, the home of Luton's rivals Watford.

Mr Crowther laughed: "I might need safety in numbers, being a Luton fan.

"Last time people said they didn't have a bike but they wanted to join in. I want to get people involved."

His first walk covered a distance of 19 miles and included 40,000 steps. Mr Crowther is hoping to reach one million steps by the end of the challenge.

He said: "My legs were complaining a lot. I've got to do that walk six times.

"I can appreciate [the views] this time rather than when I was on my bike, which was go, go, go. I'll be walking at a much slower pace.

"I saw Paris House in Woburn at six in the morning, it's nice to have some distractions. It really helps my mental health."

Money raised from the challenge will be shared between Dementia UK, mental health charities Mind and Chums, and Stepping Stones, Luton Town's club charity of the year, which supports women who suffered domestic abuse.

Mr Crowther is motivated by his own experiences of using mental healthy charities in the past.

He explained: "The reason I'm so driven is because I'm lucky to have the support I had and I want to share the message that there is help out there.

"Nobody needs to suffer in silence."

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