Desert trek challenge for CRY supporter Mark

CRY has been a charity close to the hearts of many people in Woodbridge for the past seven years.  In 1998, I found my twin sister Laura lying dead on her bed.  After weeks of testing we finally came to believe that she died of a Sudden Death Syndrome (SDS), which affects the hearts of otherwise healthy young people.

Only a couple of weeks before this tragic incident, Laura had won most of her events at the school sports day!  None of us had any idea there was a problem with Laura’s heart, and to this day it’s still hard to believe it has happened. The pain we have felt since is something no-one should ever have go through, and the money and awareness we can raise all goes towards research and testing to stop this happening.

I will be trekking across the Sahara in March 2006.  Am I going to enjoy it?……..who knows, but I am certainly going to give it my best shot.

Sorting out my sponsorship; I have been amazed by the generosity of people.  A number of local businesses have pledged sponsorship, and during the trip I shall be taking photos of me wearing their company t-shirts with the sand dunes as the backdrop.

The way my friends and family have supported me has been incredible, pestering everyone they know to help me raise the £2000 I need for the trip.  We have also arranged for a band to play at our local football club, which should be interesting as the band haven’t played together for about 5 years!  We will also be holding a raffle on the night with the prizes being donated by local companies.

Sending out leaflets on my local estate also seemed a good idea when I thought about having a charity car boot sale.  Little did I know that people were very keen to get rid of things when they found out it was for charity.

The other aspect of the trip is to sort out my training.  I plan to do a bit of aerobic training (I play for a local football team, so this is mostly covered) and loads and loads of walking.  The shingle beaches along the Suffolk coastline will also be taking a pounding.