My story

My name is Victoria Deakin, I am a Royal Artillery officer serving with Her Majesty's Armed Forces.

In April I will be competing in the 2012 Marathon des Sables (MDS) to raise money for The Royal British Legion.

 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.

You can find out more about the event by visiting the following web site http://www.saharamarathon.co.uk/ 

Alternatively you can find out what Olympic, gold medal winning athlete James Cracknell thought about the event when he took part! http://www.jamescracknell.com/blog/2011/03/21/james_talks_marathon_de_sablewarts_and_all-204?page=2

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!

I will make it work!

I have very supportive friends and family who I will be relying on to allow me time to train locally on The Ridgeway.

I also plan to do a couple of 'beat up' events before the race to get a taste for what is to come!

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.

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.

So please dig deep and donate now!

My gallery 5

My updates 2

Thank you everybody for your support. I have now completed the event. An amazing experience and although I got a fairly sore knee (ITB) my feet were in amazingly good condition (apologies to those who thought the pics were my feet-an example of what may have been!) Thanks again!

23/04/12 08:45

Over 50% of my target reached, slowly getting there :-)

30/03/12 20:39

My Teams

My company

My charity

The Royal British Legion

The Royal British Legion

Charity Registration No. 219279

It is the UK's leading charity providing financial, social and emotional support to millions who have served and are currently serving in the British Armed Forces and their dependents.

Donations 103

 

Astonishing. Well done. Iain and Iona

Donation by iain hilleary on 09/05/12

£20.00

+ £5.00 Gift Aid

 

Hope this makes up your total. Very well done. Look forward to hearing all about it. Richard .

Donation by Richard Collins on 03/05/12

£50.00

+ £12.50 Gift Aid

 

This is from my mother

Donation by Nigel Turner on 01/05/12

£20.00

 

Well done Vicki - it's an amazing achievement. Best wishes, Jo

Donation by Joanna Hollins on 25/04/12

£20.00

+ £5.00 Gift Aid

 

Awesome achievement. Well done!!!

Donation by Ross MacLachlan on 24/04/12

£10.00

+ £2.50 Gift Aid

 

A small contribution but I am sure it all helps

Donation by Anderw Dow on 24/04/12

£10.00

 

well done

Donation by crispin on 24/04/12

£7.00

+ £1.75 Gift Aid

 

Well done Victoria - fantastic effort!

Donation by Howard Preene on 24/04/12

£50.00

+ £12.50 Gift Aid

 

Donation by CSC on 24/04/12

 

A tiny contribution but I couldn't not as it was all begun by my grandfather! and most of all, I admire your courage. Love, Anne

Donation by Anne Morgan on 23/04/12

 

Donation by Kate Philp on 23/04/12

£20.00

+ £5.00 Gift Aid

 

Deaks! I was hugely impressed by your marathon de sables adventure. Well done and good luck for the next challenge.whatever it may be!

Donation by Sally Dalton on 23/04/12

£20.00

+ £5.00 Gift Aid

 

Donation by Victoria Deakin on 23/04/12

£140.00

+ £35.00 Gift Aid

 

Fantastic effort. Hope the injuries/ailments heal soon. Judging from the photos I'd put your feet up for a bit.

Donation by Tom & Fliss Green on 19/04/12

£50.00

+ £12.50 Gift Aid

 

Amazing endeavour Bunty and a brilliant achievement. We followed your progress with awe. Was it worse than giving birth? Jon and Sarah McCleery

Donation by Jon McCleery on 19/04/12

£20.00

+ £5.00 Gift Aid

 

From this day onwards I shall never sponsor anyone for anything as feeble hearted or mediocre as a half marathon again. Incredible! Donated Gladly.

Donation by Toby White on 19/04/12

£100.00

+ £25.00 Gift Aid

 

Fantastic effort. The pictures of your feet were horrendous!

Donation by Anonymous on 18/04/12

£25.00

+ £6.25 Gift Aid

 

Very many congratulations. The lengths you will go to for an out of season sun tan!

Donation by Ed and Jenny on 18/04/12

£100.00

+ £25.00 Gift Aid

 

Well done Victoria - cracking effort!

Donation by Anonymous on 17/04/12

£50.00

+ £12.50 Gift Aid

 

Hey Vic, "welldone" seems too small a word - an absolutely amazing achievement! Wishing you an enjoyable recovery + hope to catch up over a pint soon!

Donation by Jenny Guy on 16/04/12

£100.00

 

Donation by Timothy Gibson on 16/04/12

£50.00

 

Good work Vicks!! Hope the blisters aren't too bad!!

Donation by Alex Mills on 16/04/12

£20.00

+ £5.00 Gift Aid

 

You are amazing Victoria - what a brilliant achievement. We are in total awe. Best wishes Fiona & Simon Clark

Donation by Fiona Clark on 15/04/12

£20.00

+ £5.00 Gift Aid

 

Great Cause for others, Great Effort on your part. Really well done, from all the Owen-Smith family.

Donation by David Owen-Smith on 14/04/12

£50.00

+ £12.50 Gift Aid

 

Well Done Victoria, I knew you could do it. What an achievement. xxx

Donation by Georgie on 14/04/12

£20.00

+ £5.00 Gift Aid

Donation summary

  • * Online donations$5,475.55
  • Offline donations$971.06
  • Text donations$15.06
  • Total raised$6,461.67
  • Gift Aid$1,222.10

* Charities pay a small fee for our service. Find out how much it is and what we do for it.