Robert and Ana Maria in Rome at the start of their challenge

The determined duo will fly from London Heathrow to Toulouse, France, on Sunday 13 September to continue their incredible journey.

Having already completed approximately half the journey, Robert and Ana Maria will now trek a further 2 million steps and 1,300 miles to reach their ultimate goal of 4 Million Steps for Mabel – raising vital funds for Momentum Children’s Charity.

Touching on why they are fundraising for Momentum, Robert Gomez said: “We chose this journey to mirror Mabel’s courage as an example to others, to thank our NHS for their care and above all, to thank Momentum. They stood by Mabel and our family from day one and still support us now. Their expertise and kindness for families affected by cancer is an inspiration to everyone.”

Mabel, who is now 6 years old, completed her cancer treatment at Kingston Hospital last year.  

At 81 and 78, Robert Gomez and his wife, Ana Maria, are proving that age is no barrier to adventure. The couple embarked on the extraordinary walking challenge in March and returned to the UK in June.  Schengen visa restrictions meant the couple had to split their challenge into two stages, with the rules allowing them to spend only 90 days within the Schengen Area during any 180-day period.  

Talking about the first stage of the walk, Robert said:  “We found the first stage of our walk much harder than we anticipated, a combination of harsher terrain and being that little bit older, I guess! Each time we felt we could not go on we remembered everything that Mabel endured which was much worse than any aches and pains we might suffer. In the family, we have a saying that epitomises Mabel’s resilience in the face of such adversity- ‘Be more Mabel!’. No matter what life threw at her she was always smiling always ready for the next challenge.  We take our inspiration from her and nothing will stop us from reaching our goal.” 

Robert continued: “We estimate that the second stage will take us 88 days including a short number of rest days.  We only have 90 days to play with so it’s going to be touch and go.  Mabel is living a normal life again, she has just started Year Two at school and is seeing us off at the airport on Sunday.  We expect she will be waiting for us when we return in December with her usual smiley face and an enormous hug.”

Momentum Children’s Charity supports families across London, Surrey and Sussex whose children are facing cancer or a life-challenging condition. The charity partners with local hospitals to offer personally tailored support to the entire family through their family support workers, both in hospital and at home.

Robert and Ana Maria have set themselves a £6,000 fundraising target for Momentum. Help them reach this by sponsoring them here: Robert Gomez is fundraising for Momentum Children’s Charity

To find out more about the work of Momentum Children’s Charity, please visit www.momentumcharity.org

Notes to Editors:

Momentum Children’s Charity supports families across London, Surrey and Sussex whose children are facing cancer or a life-challenging condition. We partner with local hospitals to offer personally tailored support to care for the emotional and mental wellbeing of every single family member, through our family support workers. Our services include counselling, creative therapies, special experiences, and respite breaks. If the unthinkable happens, and a child dies, we offer specialist bereavement support through our Momentum Echoes service. The charity receives no government funding and is reliant entirely on voluntary support. 

Founded in 2004, Momentum Children’s Charity was started when Bianca Effemey OBE was working as a receptionist on the Paediatrics Ward at Kingston Hospital. Side effects of chemotherapy treatment can be very painful, and she became aware of the impact they were having on young cancer patients. It became her mission to get white goods donated to the hospital which could be kept full of refreshments, providing some relief to children suffering with mouth ulcers caused by chemotherapy. Momentum has grown from a very small charity to now supporting over 2,800 individuals across 726 families in 2025/26. This includes 506 families with children in active treatment and 220 bereaved families.

If you are interested in learning more about the work Momentum does, seeing the roles they are currently recruiting for or would like to get involved by attending an event, volunteering or making a donation please visit www.momentumcharity.org

www.momentumcharity.org Registered charity number: 1195373

For more information about Momentum and future press opportunities, please contact:  Claire Smith, PR and Communications Officer: clairesmith@momentumcharity.org  /  0208 974 5931