That’s it!

Well, this is it… The last day before I set off to China. A fantastic day as I have reached my target! I feel over the moon and so determined to set my foot on the Wall.

I thought it would be a good idea to look back at those amazing and crazy 4 months since I decided to sign up for this challenge. And what 4 months these have been!

When I signed up in June, the challenge itself felt ages away which is great as I soon found out there were some other challenges I had to face along the way.

The Gear

The first challenge I faced was getting all the trekking gear. I have to admit I bought quite a lot of clothes and equipment. Looking at my packed bag now I probably did not need as much as I physically can’t  pack everything in my bag. Well, you learn, and I guess no gear will get wasted as I am definitely continuing with my walking [wc_fa icon=”smile-o” margin_left=”” margin_right=””][/wc_fa]

Fundraising

I think this was the most difficult challenge but also the most fun. I set myself a target of £2000 and I was determined to raise as much as I can. It is hard to fundraise as you depend on you family, friends, colleagues and strangers to support your cause and your charity. I decided to organise some fundraising events so I can also challenge myself and not just depend on friends sponsoring me. And what fun did I have…

Funraising

My first challenge was cycling in Tesco at Buckshaw Village. I cycled for 8 hours and raised over £300 for Alzheimer’s Society. Frankly speaking, I love these sort of events and engaging with people and explaining what I am

doing. 

The second challenge was the Memory Walk at Heaton Park. I challenged my two daughters to walk 10km with me in memory of their grandfather and those affected by this cruel disease. We had a very special day in beautiful surroundings.

And we have arrived to the last week before the actual challenge. It was a very busy week. My first event was was my first ever bake sale at my local hospital where I work. It was a very last minute idea  and it was actually planned in a couple of hours. My amazing colleagues, gym friends and neighbours made some delicious cakes and cupcakes that we could sell. I do admit I was really apprehensive as I only had 2 hours to sell all the cakes and I did it… Again, I loved the whole experience. Shall I change my job?

And the last and most important fundraising event was a fun day held at my daughter’s primary school.

The children were supporting dementia charities and  everybody was supposed to come in blue and yellow clothes (Dementia Friends colours) and with crazy hair. Well, the hair on the kids was amazing…

We walked round the field to reach 50 km which is the equivalent of my trek on the Wall. We had a biscuits sale which were kindly donated by the caterers and wet sponges throwing at the teachers.

I am immensely grateful to the headteacher and year 5 teachers for organising this amazing event. Today’s total has tipped my target over £2000 and I am so thankful.

Bring on the Wall

I had amazing 4 months getting ready for this challenge. I have explored and discovered some beautiful trails around  Lancashire and Yorkshire and I am definitely going to carry on with trekking. After all I have all that gear that needs to be used!

Thank you very much to everybody who has supported me, helped in fundraising and wished me well. I do appreciate it and I will be thinking about you all when I am trekking the Wall.

I guess challenge number one has been completed!