Earlier
this year I was looking
on the CRY website for
fundraising events when
I came across Just Walk
2010 which interested
me. So, on a Saturday
afternoon over a few
pints in a pub with
Antony and friends, I
suggested we do the walk
as a brother/sister
bonding experience.
"Well
we can’t do the 10km or
20km as they’re family
walks and no-one will
sponsor us, if we do the
40km we may as well do
the 60km!!"
At
first he seemed to think
the walk would be easy,
so he decided to ask his
cardiologists if he
could do Mt. Kilimanjaro
instead, the simple
answer was NO. So, he
settled for my ‘easy’
walk and we signed up.
Only
when we started our
weekend training did we
realise the full extent
of what we were
undertaking!! I had
imagined 10km walk, cup
of tea, another 10km,
another cup of tea.
In
actual fact, there were
8 power stations along
the way giving us tea
and refreshments,
however the reality of
the time and pain was
something we hadn’t
prepared for.
We
arrived at Goodwood
racecourse at 7am and
were treated to a bacon
buttie and cup of tea
before the walk
officially started at
8am with lots of
enthusiasm from the
fellow walkers around
us. Just before 20km the
40km walkers turned off
the path and just us
hardy 60km walkers were
left.
Passing through Arundel
and Amberley the scenery
was stunning and we
could really begin to
appreciate the beauty of
the South Downs Way.
Still
going strong with a
bounce in our step
(thanks to
Compeed!!) we
reached the 36km
station, where the
medics on-site pulled
some walkers out of the
walk. After a quick
drink we tackled Bignor
Hill, which seemed to go
on forever, the promise
of a hot meal at the top
keeping everyone going!
It
wasn’t until we had only
8km left did the pain
really start to set in
and our energy and
cheery banter faded and
the finish line seemed
to get further and
further away!
Armed
with head torches we
finally finished at
9:50pm, running over the
finish line to rapturous
applause from the
stewards awaiting our
return!
Many
families aren’t as
fortunate as us and have
to raise money in memory
of someone. I’m one of
the lucky ones and
Antony is an inspiration
to everyone, proving
that if diagnosed you
can live life to the
full with long QT.
Between us, we’ve raised £2,215
for CRY which is
fantastic.
Rachel Bellon
