St Austell sepsis survivor Skye Owen walks 24 hours non-stop

Twenty-four hours on her feet. No stopping, no sleeping, no sitting down for longer than it took to change her socks. That was the challenge Skye Owen set herself over the weekend, and she chose the timing deliberately: the walk began on the exact anniversary of the day sepsis nearly took her life, and finished on World Sepsis Day.

Two years to the day

The 24-year-old from St Austell set off at 6pm on Saturday 12 September, two years to the hour since she was admitted to hospital with sepsis. She kept walking through the night and into Sunday, finally stopping at 6pm on 13 September, World Sepsis Day itself. Skye walked to raise funds and awareness for The UK Sepsis Trust, and has also been nominated for a JustGiving Award 2026 in the Mind Over Miles category.

In the UK, five people lose their lives to sepsis every hour.

What sepsis did to her in 2024

Skye was hospitalised for four weeks in September 2024 after developing sepsis caused by a Staphylococcus aureus infection. Her first symptom was severe back and hip pain so bad she couldn’t move, and an ambulance was called. Tests found infection in her hip and sacroiliac joints, and her infection markers were high enough for doctors to diagnose sepsis. She spent weeks in hospital before continuing her recovery at home, where a specialist care team administered intravenous antibiotics.

Sepsis is a life-threatening condition that arises when the body’s response to infection harms its own tissues and organs. It is as common in the UK as heart attacks, affecting 245,000 people a year and claiming 48,000 lives, and around 80,000 people a year are left with life-changing after-effects. Research shows 82 per cent of survivors experience Post-Sepsis Syndrome more than a year after they leave hospital.

From relearning to walk to the length of the coast path

During her recovery, Skye had to relearn how to walk. It’s part of what has pushed her toward one walking challenge after another in the two years since. Earlier this year she walked the entire 630-mile South West Coast Path, from Minehead to Poole. The 24-hour non-stop walk was her next target, timed to mark both her hospital admission and World Sepsis Day.

Through the night, mile by mile

By the time she stopped, Skye had covered 39.15 miles and clocked up 93,858 steps in 24 hours and 4 minutes.

“The 24-hour walk was every bit as tough as I expected, but also incredibly rewarding,” Skye Owen said. “Physically there were definitely moments where I questioned what on earth I was doing, especially in the early hours when my legs and feet were screaming at me! But knowing why I was doing it kept me going.”

“When I finished, I felt exhausted, emotional and incredibly proud. After everything I’ve been through since sepsis, being able to push myself like this again feels really special. I know how lucky I am to be here, to be able to challenge myself, and to use that journey to raise awareness of sepsis and hopefully make a difference to others affected by it. I am very sore overall, and have some terrible blisters, but seeing that we raised almost £1,000 from this challenge, it has made it all worth it.”

A walk carried for a little girl called Nova

Skye dedicated the challenge to little Nova, whose family she met during her South West Coast Path walk earlier this year.

“It’s the perfect way to bring my story full circle while using the challenge to raise as much awareness of sepsis as I can,” Skye said. “I’m also dedicating this challenge to little Nova, whose family I met during my first challenge earlier this year. Her story touched me incredibly deeply. Hearing what she and her family went through stayed with me, and inspires me to continue my fundraising for the UK Sepsis Trust. I wanted to do something meaningful in her memory, and hope that by sharing her story alongside my own we can help more people recognise the symptoms and ultimately save lives.”

Know the six signs of sepsis

Sepsis presents differently in each patient and can be hard to spot, but there are six key symptoms, spelling out the word itself:

S is for slurred speech or confusion
E is for extreme pain in the muscles or joints
P is for passing no urine in a day
S is for severe breathlessness
I is for “it feels like I’m going to die”
S is for skin that’s mottled, discoloured or very pale

If any one of those six signs shows up alongside an infection, the advice is to go straight to A&E. The UK Sepsis Trust’s Sepsis Savvy resources go into the knowledge needed to seek urgent treatment at the right time.

Dr Ron Daniels BEM, Founder and Chief Medical Officer of the UK Sepsis Trust, said: “We are incredibly moved by Skye’s dedication. Her commitment to raising awareness of sepsis, two years on from an illness that could have cost her life, is truly inspiring. Taking on a 24-hour non-stop walk timed to World Sepsis Day is a brilliant way to mark how far she’s come, and we’re delighted to see her recognised with a JustGiving Award nomination too. Skye’s support will allow us to continue our vital work, helping our health service save lives and improve outcomes for the thousands of people affected by this condition every year.”

The UK Sepsis Trust was founded in 2012 by NHS consultant Dr Ron Daniels BEM. It educates healthcare professionals, raises public awareness, lobbies for political change and runs a team of trained Support Nurses who help people through sepsis recovery and bereavement. The charity receives no statutory funding and relies entirely on donations.

📷Skye Owen's Strava summary at the end of her 24-hour walk

Voting for the JustGiving Awards 2026, where Skye is nominated in the Mind Over Miles category, closed on the day of the challenge itself. The blisters, she says, are still healing.