Following challenges, fundraising events and general craziness; I managed to raise £26,500 in just 12 months! I had promised myself, the group that I had created on Facebook and my family a year then my boots were to be firmly hung up . . . how wrong was I? Within weeks i became restless, looking for my next challenge. The truth is that from simple stubbornness to prove to John that I would use the original exercise bike; grew a desire to keep challenging myself, help others and bring people together. The ever growing community of followers, filled me with the confidence to think; what more can i do? That being said; Sarah’s Charity Challenges evolved to Sarah’s COMMUNITY Challenges project; the emphasis on Community. It wasn’t about me anymore; it was about trying to inspire others to challenge themselves, get involved and more importantly have fun along the way!
I went on to swim the length of the English Channel in a month for our local Maggies Centre and walked 5km a day for a month for Leesfield Preschool who were on the verge of closure; having suffered financially very significantly due to the impact that Covid had.
As the months went by the challenges became more . . . challenging! Cold water challenges saw me and a friend Mark sit in a flowerpot of cold water for 46 minutes outside the local B&Q. We also endured a 30-mile walk in memory of two of my friends who had taken their own lives; in order to raise mental health awareness and enlighten peple to support locally at Andy’s Man Club and TOG Mind.
My biggest challenge came in February 2023, when I was wrapping up a year of fundraising activities and it was a case of go big or go home! Each day saw me face a challenge of some form from holding coffee mornings, fundraisers and food drives to cycling 96 miles in a day on a static bike, completing an Olympic standard triathlon, rowing 7km in one go and a 70km walk; which took myself and Mark 16 hours and 20 minutes! We may never be the fastest at our completion of challenges but we get it done; together.
Thanks for reading and hope to see you soon!
Remember to challenge yourself, be kind and help others where you can because; TOGETHER, we can cross the line!
