Hi Katherine, it’s fantastic to hear you’re joining us for TrekFest in September! Who else is part of your team?

“Team Puffin is currently made up of 3 members, myself, my partner Ashley and a friend Dayton.”

That’s brilliant! Which charity are you supporting?

“We are fundraising for the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) at Queen Elizabeth II Hospital, Kings Lynn, Norfolk.”

Arlen (left) and Eivin (right) on the day they were born, and at six months old.

Can you tell us a bit about why you chose to support this incredible cause?

“In March 2020 Ashley and I found out we were expecting identical (mono amniotic) twins. We were referred to a specialist in London (Queen Charlotte Hospital) and were advised that because the boys shared a placenta and sac they had a 35-40% mortality rate due to cord entanglement. They could also have been delivered from 25 weeks if complications were discovered.

We had to attend scans every other week at the local hospital and one a month in London.

I attended scans alone due to COVID-19 restrictions, but despite the odds our Puffins, Arlen and Eivin were delivered at our local hospital at 33+2 weeks.

The boys spent 21 days on the NICU. They received exemplary care from the second they were born. A week of which was in high dependency in incubators on oxygen and high flow.

The NICU team took time to explain to us what treatment the boys were having, taught us how to tube feed and provided me with expressing and breast feeding support.

If it wasn’t for NICU, our boys wouldn’t be the happy healthy babies they are today and so this challenge is our way of raising money as a thank you for all they did for us as a family and for so many other families.”

Thank you so much for sharing your story with us Katherine, we’re so happy to hear that Arlen and Eivin are doing well! Wishing you all the best with your training and fundraising journey, we can’t wait to see you in the Beacons in September!

To read Katherine’s story, and to support her fundraising, head over to https://www.justgiving.com/crowdfunding/kate-butcher-1?utm_term=a2aXMNa4w

Are you feeling inspired? Take on your own TrekFest challenge and support a cause close to your heart this summer!

TrekFest participant, Daniel Eggington, recently conquered our TrekFest The Beacons challenge and is going on to take part in TrekFest The Peaks on Saturday 31 August – all in preparation for his solo expedition in Colombia!

Daniel took part in TrekFest The Beacons on Saturday 6 July 2019 along with two friends. Together they were raising funds for a new wheelchair for one of the team member’s nephews. More information on the teams fundraising journey can be found here – Harrison’s Lightweight Wheelchair.

Daniel has summarised his TrekFest experience for us here. For the full blog post, head over to Daniel’s page The Merchant Traveller.

Daniel and his team mates arrived at the TrekFest village at around 8pm on the Friday night; “We spent most of that night in the tepee bar; a brilliant social area where other walkers/runners would talk and learn about each other and their chosen charities.” The TrekFest Village is home to our chill out zone, TrekFest pub and a dedicated campsite for all of our participants. A fantastic place to soak up the pre and post event atmosphere!

The 50km trekking challenge then started at 7am. 3, 2, 1 and they were off! It was 11km until the first checkpoint; “The majority of the walk so far was on the banks of the River Usk – grey herons were along the river with a few more species from wrens to goldcrest which I caught a glimpse of.”

The team made it to their first checkpoint. The refreshments were a welcome sight! “Water and snacks waited for us; from fruits to flapjacks to glucose drinks!”

It was then onto the next checkpoint, a further 17km on. The boys continued and kept each other’s motivation levels high as they explored the beautiful Brecon Beacons National Park. On arrival at Checkpoint 2, the 50km challengers received a well-deserved hot meal – “the food provided was not what I expected. I would have imagined basic warm food, but the food felt like it had come out the back of a 5-star hotel kitchen!”

After spending 45minutes resting, fixing blisters and refuelling, Daniel and his team continued along the next section of the route. A much steeper section, including summiting South Wales’ highest peak – Pen y Fan (672m). The team took on the trail, alongside the pine forest, gradually getting steeper and steeper until the path opened up with incredible views of Corn Du and Pen y Fan. “This part was the hardest part of the trek, on already tired legs and burning much more calories than I had eaten it was difficult. More water stops were needed, with lots of people willing me on!”

They made it to the summit!

Daniel spent just 10 minutes at the top, enough time to take in the scenes, without seizing up. It was then a small incline to Corn Du before starting their decent. “I felt I had completed it! We all sighed in relief – no more climbing or ascending!”

“After the steep ascent it was then primarily through farmers’ fields and country roads. Which suited us and the faster pace we wanted to go as to make our time up as much as possible.” With the third and final checkpoint coming up, Daniel felt a surge of motivation; “spirits lifted in our team and the people around us – we got to the checkpoint and there was a nice setup of Gatorade, flapjacks, fruits and water refilling tubs.”

It was then time to complete the final section of the challenge and push on to the finish line! “We continued at our pace and tried entertaining each other – we would listen to music or sing a song. We were in good spirits – we all agreed what we had already done was a great achievement.”

“This was now the home straight – we began picking up the pace and ran 200 metres, walked 200 and so on for the remainder of the miles. We had entered Brecon village; I had recognised some of the pubs and garages of my past trips to Brecon.”

The finish was then in sight! The team’s supporters cheered them on across the finish line, where a medal, finishers t-shirt and glass of bubbly was waiting for them. Daniel finished 24th out of the 300+ 50km participants, with a finish time under 10 hours (9 hours 48 minutes) – what an amazing achievement!

“With the money raised for the cause mentioned earlier, we were all proud of ourselves and thanks to Global Adventure Challenges for the food and an event organised so well. So, if anyone would like to take part in any kind of event in the UK or overseas these are your go-to guys.”

A massive WELL DONE Daniel! And well done for raising a huge amount of money for Harrison’s Lightweight Wheelchair. We can’t wait to see you again at TrekFest The Peaks on Saturday 31 August!

“Admiral nurses offer invaluable one-to-one support and care to families, practically and emotionally helping to find solutions to enable those suffering, families and carers to live their lives more positively each and every day. Another way of offering support is through the ‘Admiral Nurse Dementia Helpline’. The help provided really is a life line to all involved – as living with Dementia can be an extremely hard and lonely experience.”

That’s fantastic. It’s great to hear that you are raising money for such a fantastic cause. Why did you decide to support Dementia UK?

“My personal reasons for always choosing to fundraise for Dementia charities are because my beloved dad has Dementia and every day is a struggle, particularly for my mum as his main carer. As a family it is heart-breaking to know that you cannot change things for your loved one, but just always be there with unconditional love and care. Personally, I feel by fundraising and taking on the various challenges I have is a way of making me feel I am helping (even just a little) to make some difference to mine and other families in the same situation.”

We wish you all the best with your fundraising and training in the lead up to the challenge! Good luck Louise!

To read Louise’s story, and to support her fundraising, head over to www.justgiving.com/fundraising/louise-rodger3 

Are you feeling inspired? Take on your own TrekFest challenge and support a cause close to your heart this summer!