Just Walk 2010 – 60km route
15th May 2010
My brother (Antony) has been in contact with CRY for some years now as he was diagnosed with long QT syndrome at 12 years old and is now 30 years old and on his 3rd pacemaker.
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
