No turning back!

After much umming and erring and worrying about how on earth I'm going to raise £2,800, I finally took the plunge and handed in my application form for Iceland. The deposit is non-refundable, so that's it, decision made and now it's going to be a terrifying few months whilst I try and raise the money. Credit crunch Britain is not going to be the easiest time to find some generous supporters, and the fact that I work for the charity rules out my company matching my contributions, but hey, it's a challenge for a reason I guess. I'll be holding some fabulous events and will certainly be spending some time shaking a tin outside the shops (be grateful if you don't live in London as you won't be pestered by me), so keep an eye on this blog to see how it's all getting on.

I also found out that the trek is 100km... up and down mountains... best get training then.

And so it begins....

After my first three months at Macmillan Cancer Support, I was struck by a sudden urge to get off my butt and start doing something good. Blame it on a need to get that warm, fuzzy feeling, a guilty conscience or just an urge to spend a holiday in a more productive way than swanning around a European city (if only), I decided the time had come to set myself a challenge.

Challenge events are part of the culture at Macmillan. In a place where getting involved is part of the mantra, there is no better way to do this than by plunging head first into one of their rugged, challenge events. Although the choices are multiple, I found it fairly easy to narrow it down - cycling the Great Wall of China would be amazing, but lets face it, for a girl who breaks into a sweat just thinking about climbing the stairs instead of taking the lift, it was unlikely. I'd already mastered the Inca Trail a few years ago and a marathon is a dim and distant dream. So, Iceland it was... the latest event offered by Macmillan.  

So come August 2009 I'll be spending 6 days trekking over hills and valleys, camping outside and living without life's little luxuries to raise money for people affected by cancer. The target's 

3000 pounds, and I'll be hosting events, saving my pennies and asking my most favourite people in the world for sponsorship to raise that money. This blog will record how my fundraising and planning goes over the next 10 months, how I fare on the trip itself, as well as keeping you posted on the events you can come along to to support me.

1 in three of us will have cancer. Cancer affects us all, and we can all do something to help.

If you're feeling wonderfully kind and generous this close to Christmas, you can sponsor me at http://www.justgiving.com/jenthorley .... pretty pretty please.