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Navy civil servant’s epic trek in dinosaur suit in very personal charity mission
7 March 2025
Royal Navy civil servant Graeme Lloyd will walk more than 125 miles next month – including completing the London Marathon – to help MND sufferers… all while dressed as a dinosaur.
The 52-year-old civil servant will spend seven days on the road dressed as a triceratops, first walking to the capital from his Hampshire home, then joining some 50,000 runners and fund-raisers in the London Marathon.
On the six-day trek from Lee-on-the-Solent to Greenwich, where the legendary road race begins, he’ll frequently be encouraged – and guided – by fellow fundraisers in monster costumes, truly walking with dinosaurs.
For Graeme, who helps oversee one of the Navy’s main training programmes from its headquarters on Whale Island in Portsmouth, there is a very serious – and personal – reason for the ‘Jurassic lark’.
He lost his mother to the disease in 2019. Last autumn his 97-year-old grandmother was diagnosed with motor neurone disease – and passed away just a few weeks ago. And now his aunt has also been struck down with the same condition.
“It’s an awful disease – not just physically, but also the mental strain of it,” Graeme said. “It destroys your mental health. My auntie has seen what it’s done to my mum and grandma, knowing that she will go through something very similar. That’s very difficult to take
“I wanted to do something to help. Obviously I couldn’t fight MND myself, but I can help the fight by raising money for the scientists who are researching the disease.”
With friends he took up a walking challenge to raise money for MND research last year and collectively brought in around £12k.
That impressed the charity to offer the civil servant a place in the London Marathon, but Graeme felt he could “spice up” the challenge a little.
One triceratops costume later (£30 from a well-known online retailer) and a lot of walking in training (150 miles in January building up to 300 in the month before the actual challenge), he believes he’s ready.
I wanted to do something to help. Obviously I couldn’t fight MND myself, but I can help the fight by raising money for the scientists who are researching the disease.
As for the costume, it’s about 8ft tall and whilst reasonably lightweight, it requires an electric fan running constantly to maintain its form.
In the rain, the fan has a habit of shorting out, if it’s cold, there’s a lot of condensation, while on hot days the costume is extremely sweaty. A following wind forces the triceratops’ head down so Graeme can only see his feet, and a head wind slows his progress.
The costume’s cumbersome nature rules out running, but maintaining a pace of 3½ -4mph Graeme hopes to cross the finish line on The Mall inside the eight-hour limit set by marathon organisers.
“So basically it’s unpleasant in pretty much all weather conditions we’re likely to encounter – and hard work – but it still promises to be an unforgettable experience,” he added.
Setting off from his home on April 20, he’ll head via Petersfield-Frensham-Guildford-Epsom-Bromley before arriving in Greenwich.
Each night there’s a fund-raising activity in the town’s he’s passing through – such as a Morris dancers’ dance-off in Petersfield – and to keep costs down he’ll be overnighting in a motorhome often parked in the grounds of local rugby clubs en route.
Even before setting off, Graeme’s raised nearly £2k – he’d love to beat his 2024 total; you can show your support https://www.justgiving.com/page/graeme-lloyd-1720354995832