Thank you so much for visiting my fundraising page!

WHAT I'M DOING   The countdown is on! In just two weeks I am taking part in the Costa Rica Coast to Coast Challenge...a daunting race from one side of Costa Rica to the other with little more than mountain bikes and the occasional raft to help me on my way. The race lasts 8 days and involves 8 physically gruelling hours each day of uphill mountain biking, hiking and kyaking...and mental challenges in the evenings once our bodies have given up on us. I will be crossing the Continental Divide and climbing over those days from sea level to 2330 metres, facing weather conditions that range from 100% humidity and glaring sun to zero degrees as the race moves up into the mountains.

WHY?  The whole event is in aid of The Prince's Trust which, as I'm sure lots of you know, is a really really worthy cause that works tirelessly to change the lives of young people in Britain. Its work with young offenders, and the way it supports children the education system has failed, is enormously inspirational. Check out their website if you have time: www.princes-trust.org.uk It explains things much better than I ever could. Please note: I am giving £500 myself towards my fundraising target to make sure that anything you donate goes straight to the charity and not to my ticket to Costa Rica.

As most of you know, I've always been more of a sport-for-fun kind of person so the idea of preparing for this kind of expedition is no mean feat for me. Just to give you an idea of what I am up against, in the 'Minimum fitness' guide, it says that each fundraiser must be able to run for 3 hours straight (basically a marathon). And that's just the running component. Having been massively inspired by watching friends who row push the pain barrier, I am very excited to find my limits.

Please please add your (generous!) support to my efforts as it will help massively to motivate and inspire me during the gruelling hours when all I want to do is give up.

Thank you so much!!

Love,

Zoe

PS... if you have time! I just read something that totally changed my perspective on the challenge I'm involved in. Dick Hoyt's story is moving, inspiring, and totally humbling. It makes my 5 months of training and fundraising seem like child's play. If you have 3 mins to spare, I can't recommend anything more. I can barely hope to bring even a tenth of the heart involved in that story to the Costa Rica challenge, but hopefully you will feel inspired to support me all the same! Don't forget to come back to this page and sponsor me though!!   http://www.cjcphoto.com/can/

Read more about my team at www.crossingcostarica.com