Think of your holiday: The Sun reaching 30 degrees in the midday heat, taking a dip in the pool to cool off, a refreshing drink at the bar........

Now whack the temperature up 20 degrees, take away the pool, and only have a limited supply of rationed water.  Then put your hand luggage weighing 10 kg on your back and run a marathon over that soft sinking sand.

Welcome to the Marathon Des Sables:  The toughest foot race on Earth

• 156+ Miles in the world's most inhospitable environments - the Sahara Desert
• 6 stages over 7 days
• A long stage of 52+ miles
• Temperatures of 50+ degrees centigrade
• Carrying a weeks’ worth of food and equipment
• With rationed water

BUT WHY.....

Think of those occasions:  Everyone's laughing, but you haven't heard the joke.... Is the joke on you ??

Deaf children face far more challenges on a daily basis and I wish to raise awareness and money for THE MARY HARE FOUNDATION, a charity supporting deaf children.

My daughter Sophie-Jade Woods lost hear hearing to meningitis at 18 months old and has faced such challenges, especially through her early teenage years, until these were eased greatly by attending Mary Hare School.

My name is Sophie-Jade Woods, and I’m currently in year 11 at Mary Hare School.

My previous school had done nothing to help me emotionally to get through life. I didn’t fit in, I didn’t feel ‘me’, and worse of all, I couldn’t be myself.  I got bullied, and because of that, my confidence went down.  I had no self-esteem, and no belief in myself. I didn’t have the confidence to do anything; I would just feel embarrassed as I felt it was my fault that I was deaf. I would hate being in friendship groups at lunch-time and trying to lip-read what everyone was saying, I hated that I had to keep saying ‘pardon’.

Since then, I’ve came so far, my confidence has grown so much.  I can’t thank Mary Hare enough for everything they’ve helped and supported me with. I’ve got an amazing circle of friends, and the one thing I just wished for was to have deaf friends, and Mary Hare granted me that.

Mary Hare: Securing the future of deaf children and young people

https://www.maryhare.org.uk/