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 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 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

 

You're a nutter! Hope it all goes well.

Donation by Nicola Roberts on 20/02/12

£20.00

+ £5.00 Gift Aid

 

Good luck Victoria. Mickey

Donation by Michael Caulfield on 20/02/12

£50.00

+ £12.50 Gift Aid

 

Tons of luck.It sounds like an real adventure in an odd sort of way.It's definately going to be something to look back on. Take care

Donation by Jackie and Eric Wyard on 20/02/12

 

Good luck! You are either really brave or really insane (or both!)

Donation by Alison Collins on 20/02/12

£100.00

+ £25.00 Gift Aid

 

Good luck.! You are mad. Be careful. If I was 50 years younger I would come too.

Donation by Alexander Lindsay on 20/02/12

£50.00

+ £12.50 Gift Aid

 

Impressive; good luck with this epic

Donation by Stephen Flint on 20/02/12

£25.00

+ £6.25 Gift Aid

 

Fantastic effort. Very best wishes and take good care of yourself.

Donation by Glyn on 20/02/12

 

Good Luck Victoria and take good care of yourself. John and Susie

Donation by John McCullough on 19/02/12

£50.00

+ £12.50 Gift Aid

 

Great idea and good luck. (Sarah sent me the info about this).

Donation by Penny Hitchings on 10/02/12

£20.00

+ £5.00 Gift Aid

 

a noble way to raise funds, good luck & well done

Donation by Anonymous on 10/02/12

 

Sarah Hann called my attention this. Good luck training & ordeal. Been to edge of Sahara found walking hard enough.

Donation by Andy Hart on 08/02/12

 

Good luck and hope you enjoy it!

Donation by Letitia on 08/02/12

 

Good luck!

Donation by Tina Stallard on 08/02/12

£20.00

+ £5.00 Gift Aid

 

Run like the wind

Donation by Anonymous on 01/02/12

£50.00

+ £12.50 Gift Aid

 

Best of luck for the training as well as the race. Looking forward to hearing all about your heroic performance when you get back.

Donation by Sam and Anna on 30/01/12

£40.00

+ £10.00 Gift Aid

 

With lots and lots of love and best wishes for your adventure.

Donation by Poppy & Ade on 30/01/12

£50.00

+ £12.50 Gift Aid

 

Donation by Anonymous on 23/01/12

£10.00

+ £2.50 Gift Aid

 

Best of luck sweetheart! xx

Donation by Rhiannon Davies on 20/01/12

£20.00

+ £5.00 Gift Aid

 

Best of luck Deaks! Helen and Chris xxx

Donation by Helen and Chris Head on 19/01/12

 

Good luck crazy lady!!!

Donation by Vanessa kibble on 18/01/12

£20.00

+ £5.00 Gift Aid

 

All the best and remember to enjoy the experience in between the painful bits! Karly and Rich

Donation by Richard Coates on 15/01/12

£40.00

+ £10.00 Gift Aid

 

Awesome luck Deaks - you'll be ace. Love Mops, Jonny, Freddie and Sam XXXXX

Donation by Mopsy Hamp on 15/01/12

 

Good luck deaks x x

Donation by Kelly Smith on 14/01/12

£20.00

+ £5.00 Gift Aid

 

Donation by Steven Edgar on 14/01/12

£20.00

+ £5.00 Gift Aid

 

Good luck, I'll join you on training soon x

Donation by Sarah Turner on 14/01/12

£100.00

+ £25.00 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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