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

 

Hope it's going well..... feet bearing up. Well done. Jeff S

Donation by Jeff Stevenson on 14/04/12

 

Such a great effort Deaks, best of luck for the last push. X

Donation by Helena Holden on 12/04/12

£15.00

+ £3.75 Gift Aid

 

I am amazed at what you have taken on. Good luck for the last leg! Val Scatchard

Donation by Valerie Scatchard on 12/04/12

£20.00

+ £5.00 Gift Aid

 

Good luck with the rest of it.

Donation by Claire McKenna on 10/04/12

£20.00

 

Great stuff. Keep running.

Donation by Richard White on 09/04/12

£50.00

+ £12.50 Gift Aid

 

Donation by Elizabeth Richardson on 06/04/12

£20.00

+ £5.00 Gift Aid

 

Go Deaks!! Try to enjoy an amazing challenge!!

Donation by Robert Skeggs on 06/04/12

£20.00

+ £5.00 Gift Aid

 

You are one seriously nails, crazy be-hatch! Loads of love and luck and serious admiration for a tough old mummy!

Donation by Anna & Dickie Downs on 05/04/12

£10.00

+ £2.50 Gift Aid

 

Donation by Anonymous on 05/04/12

£20.00

+ £5.00 Gift Aid

 

Good luck Deaks.

Donation by The Hitch's on 05/04/12

£20.00

+ £5.00 Gift Aid

 

Good luck Vicky! We'll be thinking of you... Don't get too many blisters! XXX

Donation by Kelly, Vinny and Oliver Halsall on 05/04/12

£15.00

+ £3.75 Gift Aid

 

Hope you win!!

Donation by Sarah Kelland on 05/04/12

£20.00

+ £5.00 Gift Aid

 

Good luck Vicky, will be praying for you! Si

Donation by Simon Harris on 05/04/12

£25.00

+ £6.25 Gift Aid

 

Best of Luck, John Comley

Donation by Anonymous on 04/04/12

£20.00

+ £5.00 Gift Aid

 

Dig in girl!

Donation by John Deakin on 04/04/12

£50.00

+ £12.50 Gift Aid

 

many thanks to R Wilson who wishes you every success

Donation by Hilary Deakin on 02/04/12

£20.00

+ £5.00 Gift Aid

 

Hi Victoria. I hope that you you have fun during the run and are blessed with lots of stamina throughout! Take care and stay well.

Donation by Delia Cleaver on 02/04/12

£20.00

+ £5.00 Gift Aid

 

We think that you are absolutely mad, but hope you have a fairly" smooth" run. Best wishes Jim & Sue

Donation by J Matthews on 01/04/12

£50.00

+ £12.50 Gift Aid

 

All the best Victoria 31/03/12

Donation by Cale Family on 31/03/12

£50.00

+ £12.50 Gift Aid

 

Best of luck, Vicky - I hope it goes really well for you. I'll be thinking of you - don't know how you do it! x

Donation by Becks on 30/03/12

 

Good luck from Baulking

Donation by Harry and Linda Jones on 28/03/12

£25.00

+ £6.25 Gift Aid

 

Go team Victoria!

Donation by Nigel Turner on 27/03/12

£20.00

+ £5.00 Gift Aid

 

Looking forward to the photographic evidence of your madness, I'm sure you'll succeed!

Donation by sarah madden on 26/03/12

£30.00

+ £7.50 Gift Aid

 

Have a safe journey. Cheers from all of us in South Florida

Donation by Bonita Grice on 26/03/12

£20.00

+ £5.00 Gift Aid

 

Very best of luck Deaks, will be thinking of you, Pam, Mat and Annabelle xx

Donation by Anonymous on 25/03/12

£25.00

+ £6.25 Gift Aid

Donation summary

  • * Online donations£3,637.00
  • Offline donations£645.00
  • Text donations£10.00
  • Total raised£4,292.00
  • Gift Aid£811.75

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