Hugo and I completely underestimated the sheer scale of the challenge we were taking on when we signed up to kayak 125 miles from Devizes to Westminster (https://www.dwrace.co.uk/). Considering that, between us, we hadn’t kayaked much more than a mile since leaving school. But we felt that only a challenge of this magnitude would be worthy of raising money in honour of two incredible Women: Christian's beloved mother, Helen, and much-loved sister-in-law, Amelia.

Two years ago, Helen was diagnosed with Motor Neurone Disease (MND) which was a devastating shock to our family. Despite this, she continues to live life to the absolute maximum and with unwavering determination is battling against her condition with her family's loving support around her. Mum has always been there for everyone else and never questions helping her friends and family when they need her the most; particularly growing up, Maja and I were encouraged to always throw our all into everything we did and that is exactly the approach Hugo and I are taking on for this race.

As many of you know, Phoebe's older sister Amelia suffered from Epilepsy and died in a tragic accident last year. We will be channelling Amelia's fighting spirit and positive energy as we tackle the DW. Given both Amelia and Helen's conditions are related to the brain, we felt like it would be fitting to raise funds for Brain Research UK.

Brain Research UK (https://www.brainresearchuk.org.uk/) is the UK's leading national funder dedicated to research into neurological conditions. This charity invests their funds in epilepsy and MND research, to help understand the condition and why it occurs, improve treatments and work towards a cure.

Training for the DW race has been anything but smooth sailing. Late-night paddles with Putney Bridge Canoe Club, endless freezing unplanned plunges into the Thames on bitter January nights, and a grueling first race on the Kennet and Avon Canal that took us nearly twice as long as it should have—complete with double-digit capsizes. We are setting off from Devizes on good Friday morning and finishing in London on Easter Monday. We will be in the boat for about 25 hours in total!

Please help me to make a difference - your support means that we can continue to fund life-changing research so that people living with neurological conditions can live better, for longer.