The Great Wall of China Challenge

So today I made a decision to trek across the Great Wall of China. It sounds like an easy decision to have made some might say but I have been toying with it for a number of years but never quite managed to go ahead and do it, until today on my lunch break.

Why now? 

Well realistically I need to be doing things like this before I am 50 which is not that far off (19 months from when I come back). The lunch time decision though came about as I was sat eating my tuna salad browsing and went to fill in the form to get an idea of cost and thought well if why not. This is where it could be argued that there is a downside of knowing the cvc number of my credit card, it was so easy to press submit. I did and then it hit me as the message popped up and said 'Congratulations you have 300 days to go'. It may have said that but what I read was 'Hey you have 300 days to get fit' and then the OMG state of mind kicked in. My first time. I am new to this and when I say this I mean a virgin of any form of physical event and fundraising. I have not done a 5k walk, run, sponsored silence or cake bake. Well, not since school and even then not sure what I did, but have a recollection of a sponsorship form for something or other. I am not what you would call a fitness freak, I do go to the gym twice a week though :), and am kind of banking on this being a decent starting point (I accept that I could be deluded here).

Which charity? 

I spent 5 hours (no exaggeration) researching which charity to do this for. This was so hard, I now know quite a lot about how much key charities raise each year and how much of year £1 goes to the good work versus the general expenses. I decided that even though I donate to some of the big ones generally this time it had to be for a local charity that would actually benefit from a decent chunk (hopefully she says) and that would make a difference to them. I opted for Derian House, a children's hospice based in Lancashire that covers the whole of the country and the South Lakes. I am fortunate that I can self fund this trip which means that every single penny I raise will go direct to Derian House.

My personal challenge. 

So I have 300 days to get fit, train, learn to walk with poles. On top of that when I get there I need to give up social media and work for 14 days! 14 days I mean that is unheard of, that is a heck of a challenge for me not working. I am a workaholic, not knowing what is going on will kill me if the trek doesn't. On top of that I am intolerant to gluten, so meals should be fun lots of boiled rice and no sauce springs to mind. Equally, known for 5 star hotels on my normal trips the basic lodges will also make for an interesting time for me. All in all this should make for some good fundraising as anyone who knows me knows there is more than the actual trekking here that is challenging for me. What next? I now need to get my act together and get a training plan together, visit Derian House and find out more of what they do (need to pull on those heart strings), and buy my kit list.