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

 

Good luck Victoria, be thinking of you.

Donation by Love Stuart and Barbara Smith xxx on 24/03/12

 

Stay strong, determined and focussed - I have every faith in your success. We'll be thinking of you. Good Luck xx

Donation by Emma & David Claydon on 24/03/12

£20.00

+ £5.00 Gift Aid

 

Good Luck From Clive and Alison Beecham Norfolk Road St John's Wood

Donation by Clive Beecham on 20/03/12

£50.00

+ £12.50 Gift Aid

 

Best of luck Deaks - great cause and I'm sure it will be an amazing experience. Well done Matt, Claire and Ollie

Donation by Matt Brocklesby on 16/03/12

£30.00

+ £7.50 Gift Aid

 

Good luck

Donation by Chris Hall on 15/03/12

£10.00

+ £2.50 Gift Aid

 

Good luck you lunatic!

Donation by Stu and Brenda MacCrimmon on 15/03/12

£20.00

+ £5.00 Gift Aid

 

Hi Victoria, Elly X told me about your amazing challenge which I'm very happy to support. Good luck! Rich

Donation by Richard Hole on 15/03/12

£20.00

+ £5.00 Gift Aid

 

Donation by Anonymous on 15/03/12

£20.00

+ £5.00 Gift Aid

 

Good luck! You will enjoy it, even if it is in hindsight!

Donation by Colin Oliver on 14/03/12

£20.00

+ £5.00 Gift Aid

 

Victoria - great effort and good luck with the event!

Donation by allison shields on 14/03/12

£20.00

+ £5.00 Gift Aid

 

Wishing you "happy feet"

Donation by N, E, R & H Cross on 14/03/12

£75.00

+ £18.75 Gift Aid

 

Would prefer to sponsor you not to do it! Take it easy. Liz & Richard x

Donation by Anonymous on 13/03/12

£50.00

+ £12.50 Gift Aid

 

We can't imagine how you are managing to fit in all the training, but we're very very impressed and wish you all the best! XXX

Donation by Anna and Neil Budd on 13/03/12

£25.00

+ £6.25 Gift Aid

 

An event of a lifetime for you and all for a great cause. Just remember, no more Management of Defence again..x

Donation by Michael Pepper on 12/03/12

£50.00

+ £12.50 Gift Aid

 

Donation by John Magowan on 08/03/12

£20.00

+ £5.00 Gift Aid

 

Good luck Victoria. We know you can do it!

Donation by Matt, Ellen & Annabelle on 08/03/12

 

Wishing you all the best for this amazing adventure - lots of love Sarie xx

Donation by Sarah Hann on 05/03/12

 

Victoria, You make us feel tired and inadequate just thinking about it! Best of Luck, love Greg and Jessie

Donation by Jessica Thompson on 03/03/12

£50.00

 

Donation by Geoff Rumble on 27/02/12

£10.00

+ £2.50 Gift Aid

 

Caro and I wish you the very best of luck. Nick.

Donation by Nicholas Bird on 26/02/12

£50.00

+ £12.50 Gift Aid

 

Good luck, rather you than me.Sure you'll make it OK.

Donation by Clive Walters on 23/02/12

£30.00

 

Good luck darling.

Donation by Gail Walters on 23/02/12

£25.00

+ £6.25 Gift Aid

 

Still think you are mad, but all the best and stay fit!

Donation by Hilary Deakin on 22/02/12

£100.00

+ £25.00 Gift Aid

 

This is seriously crazy and amazing in equal measure. Good luck with training and of course the main event. Lots of love S, S and little Diya.

Donation by Shreshth Dharm-Datta on 22/02/12

£100.00

+ £25.00 Gift Aid

Donation by Anthony Meagor on 21/02/12

£10.00

+ £2.50 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

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