For those who don't know me thank you for visiting my Just Giving page. My name is Kerrie and I am undertaking a 40km paddleboarding challenge to raise much needed funds for 8 Below Husky Rescue.

3 years ago I couldn't swim and I was terrified of deep water. I spent my life on dry land, avoiding any events or outings that involved the possibility of getting more than my feet wet!

With the help of an incredibly patient swimming instructor (thank you Stu), a lot of floating aids, lots of freezes, stern self-talking to's and dragging myself to the pool every week no matter how many excuses I came up with, the fear slowly released its grip and I managed to master the whole swimming thing.

With my new found water confidence, a good friend encouraged me to have a play on a paddle board in the sea. That day despite not being able to stand up for more than a few seconds, I felt free, like I had conquered my fear and I was ready for my next challenge.

That challenge was being able to stand up on a paddle board and actually paddle it! 😂

18 months ago, I headed to SUP Active Yorkshire in Richmond for an introduction to paddleboarding session. With the encouragement of a fantastic team, I managed to stand up and actually paddled that day! I was hooked and have spent the last 18 months doing social paddles and met the most supportive, encouraging people who have become like a paddling family.

Now ready for a new challenge, it's a big one and I have entered Race to the Castle on the 25th April. The race starts in Nottingham and takes place along the river Trent, finishing at Newark Castle, covering 40km in total. It exceeds my longest paddle to date by almost 25km and I am going to be putting some serious training in over the next 3 months.

Initially I was going to undertake this as a personal challenge but with animal rescues struggling more than ever, I am adding an extra layer of accountability and have decided to put this challenge into the public domain and ask people if they would be kind enough to sponsor me by support a charity that is incredibly close to my heart.

8 Below Husky Rescue is a charity based in Yorkshire that rescues and rehabilitates unwanted and abandoned sled dogs. They have saved thousands of dogs over the years, many of which I have had a personal input with on their journeys to finding their forever homes.

Recently, there have been many dogs coming in requiring veterinary treatment above and beyond the basics.

One of these recent dogs is an Alaskan Malamute called Gracie. Gracie is a young dog who is completely blind due to cataracts. Her eyes are healthy other than the cataracts and with surgery her vision could be returned to near perfect, though the cost for this surgery is over £6000.

Gracie is one of many dogs who would have fallen through the cracks without 8 Below helping her.

Please help me get behind this brilliant charity to help them continue their fantastic work! ❤️