Charity, Challenge and Mountain Climbing.

So why sign up to walk 60 miles in the Sahara over six days in the most basic of circumstances? This is not normal behaviour at the age of 59, not to mention that the date of the trip is two weeks after my 60 birthday!

Let’s look at the ‘Challenge’ first. It started out as an innocent comment from my Colleague Amanda having seen the advertising flyer in Stafford. I spent ten years as a Scout Leader as a younger man and spent many an hour walking the Staffordshire Moorlands, including organising a 24hr hiking competition for the Moorlands district two years running. But that was, well let’s just say, ‘several’ years ago! Something stirred though, as I immediately considered the possibilities.

The attraction is clear, I have spent many holidays in Egypt and other destinations in Africa, love the outdoors and have been fighting a personal battle with arthritis for the past three years. Here was a chance to prove to myself that I had this in me, and at the same time, it would involve raising funds for a favoured Charity of mine (A Hospice) giving real purpose to the trip.

The health kick started last September, when I came across a supplement called Cur Cumin. It was advertised as giving great relief to Arthritis sufferers and I was allergic to Ibuprofen, so here was an opportunity to reduce the swelling of the joints which causes the pain naturally as Cur Cumin is based upon the spice Turmeric. Well to cut a long story short – it works! I have been swimming every weekday for the best part of twelve months. Within two weeks of starting the supplement, I was achieving twice the distance swimming a mile a day. Now that may sound great, but I only swim breast stroke and it has to be said, not very quickly. But now! Well this was something else for me, no longer did I have to stop half way, but swimming non-stop and at good speeds. I was also feeling much better, being able to walk again without pain in my knee after ten minutes on my feet.

What I saw was the opportunity to get fit again, and settled at 48 lengths a day at increasing speeds. Added a diet regime and I was starting to both get fitter and drop weight, which was always the original target, as I looked to put less stress on the old knees!

I had already started to walk again, as the hours of daylight stretched again, indulging in my favoured hobby of bird watching when along came the leaflet and innocent comment about how good it would be to go. 

Amanda said she would love the opportunity and another person to support her would be the push she needed. So I pushed!

So now the ‘Charity’. Katharine House Hospice needs all the support it can muster. At the evening of the presentation, both Amanda and I were impressed with both the set up and friendliness of the staff and the organisers of the expedition, Travel and Trek. Here were people who knew what they were doing after years in the Armed Services and we left to mull things over. Sleep on it if you will, and within five minutes of the next day we met at work, we were both committed to proceed.

The cost of the trip is £1600 each. Half of which pays for the trip and half goes towards the Hospice. My Wife and I having discussed the approach and style of fund raising, decided that we, as co-Directors of Castle Estates, should not only support this year, but associate ourselves with the Hospice and follow this up with fund raising every year, in a likewise fashion, or via other options, dependent upon what was being organised. So we are now proud to name Katharine House as Castle Estates chosen Charity.

Why Katharine House? Well yes, it did start with the leaflet and the trek, but what we saw that night and the passion and commitment of others, persuaded me for one, that here was a cause that was full of genuine people offering vital support for the Community we worked in. A home that gave a service that I have witnessed before with my own Father, that is vital in so many peoples’ lives. A home that has to raise so much funding themselves, year after year, just to survive! It really was that simple to decide. Now we could give something back to the same community that had helped our business over the years.

Finally there is the ‘Mountain’ and yes there is a Mountain to climb, well a sand dune, a rather large sand dune from the pictures, called Eric! But what will this trip mean to both Amanda and I and what will we have to do before we leave. Firstly let me assure you, this is a personal Challenge first and foremost. Apart from two nights where we get to enjoy the delights of Marrakesh, the rest of the trip will be about achieving and surviving the course not in a physical sense, but just to complete the trip physically.

By the time we leave, we will have probably walked the distance between Lands End and John O’Groats in preparation and fitness training, and of course we will have our own financial commitment in the kit needed for life in the Dessert.

No doubt, we will need each other’s support to complete the distance, no doubt by training together we will strengthen our resolve and by having a joint target push each other to ensure we achieve it. All of this will be hard work but the sense of achievement, both personally and on behalf of Katharine House, will be immense.

So we will provide the pain and we will be asking everybody to provide the gain. Please support us by texting SAHR60 to 70070 with the amount you wish to donate, or alternatively follow this link:  http://www.justgiving.com/Steve-Roulstone and follow the instructions on line.

Thanks one and all.