Story
<p><span style="color: #808080;"><strong><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 8.5pt;">My name is Victoria Deakin, I am a Royal Artillery officer serving with Her Majesty's Armed Forces.</span></strong></span></p>
<p><span style="color: #808080;"><strong><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 8.5pt;">In April I will be competing in the 2012 Marathon des Sables (MDS) to raise money for The Royal British Legion.</span></strong></span></p>
<p><span style="color: #808080;"><strong><span style="font-size: 8.5pt; font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 8.5pt;">The MDS is a 6 day/250km endurance race which takes place in The Sahara Desert, Morocco. The route covers miles of sand dunes and temperatures can reach over 40 degrees Celsius or over 100 degrees Fahrenheit! To make things tougher competitors must carry mandatory safety equipment, food and water.</span></strong></span></p>
<p><span style="color: #808080;"><strong><span style="font-size: 8.5pt; font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">You can find out more about the event by visiting the following web site <a href="http://www.saharamarathon.co.uk/">http://www.saharamarathon.co.uk/</a> </span></strong></span></p>
<p><span style="color: #808080;"><strong><span style="font-size: 8.5pt; font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Alternatively you can find out what Olympic, gold medal winning athlete James Cracknell thought about the event when he took part! <a href="http://www.jamescracknell.com/blog/2011/03/21/james_talks_marathon_de_sablewarts_and_all-204?page=2">http://www.jamescracknell.com/blog/2011/03/21/james_talks_marathon_de_sablewarts_and_all-204?page=2</a></span></strong></span></p>
<p><span style="color: #808080;"><strong><span style="font-size: 8.5pt; font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Training is going to be tough as I return to work in January following 10 months of maternity leave. I will be on a course that requires me to do 'homework' and when I am not at work I will be looking after my daughter Clementine. My husband is also serving and will only be at home during the weekends!</span></strong></span></p>
<p><span style="color: #808080;"><strong><span style="font-size: 8.5pt; font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">I will make it work!</span></strong></span></p>
<p><span style="color: #808080;"><strong><span style="font-size: 8.5pt; font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">I have very supportive friends and family who I will be relying on to allow me time to train locally on The Ridgeway.</span></strong></span></p>
<p><span style="color: #808080;"><strong><span style="font-size: 8.5pt; font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">I also plan to do a couple of 'beat up' events before the race to get a taste for what is to come!</span></strong></span></p>
<p><span style="color: #808080;"><strong><span style="font-size: 8.5pt; font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Thanks for taking the time to visit my JustGiving page, I really feel strongly about The Royal British Legion and the work that they do and hope that you will be able to support them.</span></strong></span></p>
<p><span style="color: #808080;"><strong><span style="font-size: 8.5pt; font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Donating through JustGiving is simple, fast and totally secure. Your details are safe with JustGiving – they’ll never sell them on or send unwanted emails. Once you donate, they’ll send your money directly to the charity and make sure Gift Aid is reclaimed on every eligible donation by a UK taxpayer. So it’s the most efficient way to donate - I raise more, whilst saving time and cutting costs for the charity.</span></strong></span></p>
<p><span style="color: #808080;"><strong><span style="font-size: 8.5pt; font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">So please dig deep and donate now!</span></strong></span></p>