Zac’s Great Big Challenge 2026: A Journey for Change

Since being diagnosed with epilepsy in January 2020, Zac has turned challenge into purpose — achieving remarkable feats while raising vital funds for Young Epilepsy and shining a spotlight on the condition.

Following the overwhelming success of Zac’s Great Big Run in 2024, where he ran an astonishing 830 miles over 365 consecutive days, Zac has now come up with an incredible and inspiring idea for his next challenge…

In 2026, Zac will take on an extraordinary challenge for a cause close to his heart. Starting from his home in Surrey, he will commence an epic journey ... running when he can and walking when he must ... all the way to Manchester United, driven by a huge desire to make a difference. BUT... reaching Manchester is only half the challenge — from there, Zac will get on his bike and cycle every mile back home to Surrey.

Zac isn’t a strong cyclist… yet! But with determination and courage, he’s proving that even challenges like epilepsy cannot stop him from pushing his limits and achieving something extraordinary.

This is a huge challenge, and every bit of support makes a real difference. Every donation, no matter the size, will help Zac make a lasting impact for Young Epilepsy.

Young Epilepsy supported our family when we first learned of Zac’s diagnosis, helping us understand the condition and how to navigate life with it. In addition to supporting families like ours, they run a school and college, providing a safe and nurturing environment for children and young people with special educational needs, including epilepsy, autism, and severe learning difficulties.

Join Zac on this incredible journey — every step and every donation helps shine a light on epilepsy and make a real difference.

Rather than set a target this year, Young Epilepsy have given us some milestone figures with indications of what the money would achieve:

£25 - Will provide one hour of support with a Youth Support Coordinator to help a child cope with their anxiety and fears about epilepsy

£50 - Will provide a group session for six children or young people with epilepsy, helping them to better understand their condition and feel less isolated.

£150 - Would provide epilepsy awareness training for school staff to ensure their students with epilepsy are safe and included.

£500 - Can provide expert advice to develop our online resources for teaching professionals, improving epilepsy awareness and support in schools.

£1,000 - Would support our vital genetics research to understand what causes a child's epilepsy and the longer-term impact on their physical and mental wellbeing.

£2,500 - Would provide a special type of sensor that sits in a helmet designed specifically for children as part of a new type of OPM-MEG brain scanner. The new scanner will give earlier and more accurate diagnosis and better treatment options for children.

£5K could pay for fencing and food for our farm animals at St Piers. Our outdoor learning environment and multi-skills workshop provide valuable experiences for students at St Piers as well as supporting their wellbeing and social skills.

£10K could provide specialist IT equipment for use in St Piers school to help students with complex learning needs to communicate and participate in class.

£18K could provide mental health crisis support to young people every day for a year, via the SHOUT text service.

£25K could fund the online professionals training platform for a year, helping teachers to better include and support young people with epilepsy at school.

£30k could provide a new Home Video Telemetry Kit to enable assessment and diagnosis of epilepsy patients in their own home, enabling more accurate and less intrusive diagnoses.