A Frodsham man has walked the whole of the Sandstone Trail and back in just 33 hours, raising over £1,000 in a bid to raise awareness about the little known Postural Tachycardia Syndrome (PoTS).

Chris Webster decided to undertake this challenge to help educate people about this rare condition, from which his wife Clára suffered during her twin pregnancy.

PoTS makes it difficult for the body to handle the changes in blood volume and pressure involved in standing up. This means that sufferers will experience light-headedness, heart palpitations, shortness of breath and fatigue during even the most physically undemanding of tasks.

PoTS normally affects women, and often strikes after a serious illness, trauma or pregnancy. Patients may see it come and go over the years.

Chris tells me that when Clára was first affected by PoTS symptoms, "her heart rate was going crazy. Just going up the stairs it would reach 180 [bpm]. She couldn't do anything; she was just constantly lying down. It became really stressful for her because she just couldn't manage normal day-to-day life."

While trying to identify the problem, the couple discovered that Clára was pregnant, a realisation which initially appeared to explain her symptoms.

However, Clára, who is a midwife herself, knew that the weakness and exhaustion she was experiencing were not normal, and eventually, over a month after she began to feel unwell, she was diagnosed with PoTS.

Chris says: "That was a relief, because at least she could explain to people "I've got PoTS, that's why I'm struggling."

However, "what stressed her out the most was knowing that she couldn't look after the babies with those symptoms."

Luckily, once Chris and Clára's twin girls were born, her symptoms left her almost as suddenly as they had arrived, and she was able to live once more without that debilitating fatigue.

While watching his wife's ordeal with PoTS, Chris was frustrated by the ignorance surrounding the condition.

"No one understood what she was going through," he says. "People were very patronising, and that's why I wanted to do what I did. It wasn't really to raise money. Whatever amount I raise isn't really going to change anything. But what I could do was raise awareness.

"It's amazing how many people who actually have got it or know someone who's got it have messaged me, all saying that they don't have anyone to talk to."

"All I want people to do is click on my page and read this story about PoTS. Because if they do that, then they may be able to help someone they know one day. I know a few people who have messaged me saying that they had no idea, and that they're glad they've read it."

Chris completed his gargantuan expedition alone, with only audiobooks for company, and he was amazed at how they helped distract him from the long road ahead.

"Before I started listening, my knee was bad, I was limping and I thought "I'm at my physical limit." And then I'd started listening to a book and got lost in it, and I'd be walking fine again!"

As night fell, Chris found it harder and harder to keep on track. With 10 or 15 miles of fields ahead of him, and a head torch that offered little assistance, he kept losing the path.

"I'd get to a sign, and there'd be an arrow pointing me in a certain direction across the field, but it's very easy to veer off if you've not got anything to look at.

"It was meant to be 67 miles but ended up being 72 because I got lost so much!

"Navigating the forest is really easy because the path is clearly defined by the trees. But the problem was all the stones and the tree roots. I kept tripping up, and so I had to walk really slowly and watch every step.

"It just went on and on!

"Sometimes, I'd walk 100 yards and put my hands on my knees and think "I'm done." But then I'd think "well I can't just stand here. I've got to keep going because the miles are still there to be done.""

It was this idea of breaking through mental barriers that motivated Chris to tackle this walk in particular. He wanted to push himself past every last trace of hesitancy and despair, and achieve something that even his own mind had believed impossible.

"Obviously I did it to raise awareness for PoTS, but from a personal point of view, I was really interested in when people say "It's mind over matter," because I never really understood what that meant," he says.

"People say that they get to a point when they're done, and they can't go on. But they always get through it. So I wanted to see what that was all about, and it's so true.

"At one point, maybe 30 miles in, I couldn't bend my left knee and I was sort of dragging myself along, and a couple of hours later I was fine again. It didn't really matter about the pain because mentally I was well prepared.

"Physically, it wasn't any harder than only walking [the Sandstone Trail] one way. It's just getting to the end and having to turn round and do it all over again. But when you do, if you've already told yourself that that's what you have to do, then it's doable."

Having banished the idea of giving up from his mind, Chris tells me that, "the last three miles were the quickest three miles. I was as fresh as when I started when I got back to the Bear's Paw!"

"The scary thing is that I wanted to get to my limit…but I didn't get there! So now I hope I never want to do anything more, because I didn't enjoy it, it was horrible!"

However, eager to challenge himself once again, Chris, half excited, half afraid, tells me that he might soon find himself attempting another mammoth walk, "something where I don't know if I could do it."

And this time, it wouldn't be 70 miles, it would be 250!

All the money that Chris raises through his Sandstone Trail Back2Back will be donated to PoTS UK charity.

To read more about Chris and Clára's story, or to donate, click here.