It was an early start, we were first off at 8am. The weather was perfect and we were full of a mixture of excitement and anxiety about the 24hrs ahead. We had all trained quite a lot in advance but nothing quite prepares you for the reality of 100km non-stop!
The first leg took us along the coast with stunning scenery and up and down the hills of the Seven Sisters. We chatted to many walkers along the way and heard their stories and which charity they were walking for. One young man on his own had a teddy bear on his rucksack and when we asked him why, he said it had been his mother’s and that she had died of cancer in February that year. He was walking for Cancer Research. Josh stayed with us all day and has since become Lizzie’s boyfriend!
We had a lovely day, walking, eating and chatting in the summer sunshine with beautiful views to reward us. My husband James came to meet us at the halfway point and had to take 3 of our group home with injuries, tiredness and sun stroke. Next we embarked on the night time walking. It was wonderful in one way, an amazingly clear night with thousands of stars visible. It was in the middle of the night that the tiredness crept in. Time seemed to stretch and we talked less, each in our own bubble.
With the dawn we all perked up as the end was in sight [metaphorically at least!], but the last few miles seemed to go on forever.
Crossing the finish line was a euphoric moment for us all. Sheralyn was there to greet us all with Archie and we all felt overjoyed that we had made it.
The patients in our practice were so very generous, we managed to raise £8,000 for CRY – it was worth the aching joints and muscles.
I did say never again – but now I think, well, maybe!