By Sarah Bishop

We will be taking on the Thames Action Path Challenge to raise money for the Chloe Mansfield Fund at Great Ormond Street Hospital ("GOSH"). This is a timed 50km walk from Putney to Runnymede along the Thames path.

Chloe & GOSH

Chloe tragically passed away in GOSH when she was exactly nine months old after putting up a huge fight on a ventilator for six months.

GOSH is a truly inspirational children's hospital which relies heavily on charitable funds. The proceeds of the Chloe Mansfield Fund will be used to build a playroom in the new respiratory wing at GOSH. The playroom will not only bring huge benefits to the children, it will also support the staff: they will be able to use it to do creative and happy things with sick children like Chloe thus helping them to make even more of a difference.

Our Training Efforts

So, to our training efforts. 

A timed 50km walk might not seem like a huge challenge but for us, it really is!

Our training has taken us far and wide and as we have progressed, we have learnt to keep on walking rather than have "breaks" in pubs!

It started out small with a walk around Hampstead Heath in the snow. 

Realising that we needed to train a bit harder, Nina and I started pounding the pavements of Southbank every Monday night and Rob kept on running. From there, we tackled Box Hill except we never got to the top of it because our legs gave up and we were worried we would get stranded. We have seen the English countryside at its most beautiful from Godalming and beyond and frequently had to be woken up at Waterloo because we all started snoring as soon as we got on the train. 

We went on an ambitious road trip to Scotland. On day one, we got straight off a flight at Aberdeen and scrambled to the top of Bennachie in a blizzard (before arguing about the quickest way down). On day two, we walked from Loch Ness to Inverness in the pouring rain before realising that we were going in the wrong direction. We ate a lot of soggy sandwiches and Rob had the dubious privilege of bunking in with us in a Japanese themed room in St Andrews. But we still stayed out of the Glenfiddich Distillery!

Most recently, we walked twenty miles along the Grand Union Canal from Limehouse to Little Venice taking in bits of London that we never knew were there. 

So, we have got all the gear (and still no idea) but we are having a lot of fun, getting fitter and now understand (in the case of Nina and me at least) what a proper blister feels like as opposed to the ones that come from high heels.

We have worn Rob out with nagging and he still can't read a map but we are confident that we will get there...

Please Sponsor

So please dig deep for the wonderful charity that is GOSH and for Chloe Mansfield.

We are extremely grateful and thank you for your support. 

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