Hello and thank you for taking the time to visit my JustGiving page 😀

This September, I’ll be attempting to climb Mount Kilimanjaro which is a dormant volcano in Tanzania. It’s the highest mountain in Africa and the highest free-standing mountain above sea level in the world, at 5,895 m (19,341 ft) above sea level.

I’m doing the climb with 3 friends Colette, Sally and Helen, in a small group organised by the XP Club enterprise: https://www.kilimanjaroxp.com/

As this experience has always been on my bucket list, I'm self-funding this trip, which means all money you donate will go directly to RSL-UK.

We expect that it will take 7 days to complete the challenge. We’ll be walking between 6-9 hours a day, camping rough and experiencing every season on our ascent. We’ll set out on hot prairie-lands, tramp through wet rainforest and summit in arctic conditions.

I’ve completed a number of challenges over the years (triathlons; marathons and motherhood!) but anticipate that climbing Kilimanjaro at the age of 55 (having absolutely no previous hiking experience), will be the hardest one yet.

My Mum Lyn has endured Restless Legs Syndrome (RLS) for over 15 years and although it sounds like a relatively harmless disease and is often ridiculed, I’ve seen firsthand how exhausting, anxiety inducing and severely debilitating it can be for sufferers. The condition is a neurological disorder characterised by an irresistible urge to move in order to stop uncomfortable, odd and sometimes painful sensations. The legs are most often affected but the arms, torso, head, and other parts of the body can be too. This causes sleep disturbance which in turn significantly impacts the mental health, emotional wellbeing and quality of life of sufferers. My mum once experienced a 4 month period with restless legs and was "on the floor with exhaustion and despair".

If you like to hear how it’s impacted my Mum Lyn (and others) please watch the linked video stories https://www.rls-uk.org/video-stories

Please consider sponsoring me so that RLS-UK can continue to do the great work they do to improve the quality of RLS care in the UK & in providing information and support to those living with RLS.

Thank you so much 😊

Tina (& Lyn!)