Machu Picchu trek 2019
Mar, 2019

RVL is proud to announce their support of Debbie Richards in her efforts to raise money for MIND, the mental health charity.  She aims to reach Peru’s most famous Inca ruin, Machu Picchu, in October 2019, during World Mental Health month.
Debbie will be undertaking a uniquely difficult challenge and is seeking sponsorship from anyone who wants to keep her motivation high. So what is the challenge? She has signed up to trek to along the Inca Trail up to Machu Picchu, which is one of the hardest physical challenges you can set yourself! Long hard days, with the added difficulty of trekking at altitude, she will no doubt be pushing herself to her limit, but all her sponsors will be rooting for her from start to finish.

MIND is an extremely worthwhile charity that makes a huge difference for everyone who comes into contact with it. In this case, Debbie’s personal story is particularly inspiring and we hope it proves to be a fantastic experience as well as a significant fundraiser. Speaking about her personal motivation to undertake the punishing trek, Debbie said, “My Mum was diagnosed with Bipolar disorder 18 years ago and there have been many ups and downs ever since. Supporting my parents through this time has had a great effect on my life too.”
A mental health condition that mainly affects mood, about 1 in every 100 adults will have bipolar disorder at some time in their life, with the majority of people developing the condition between the ages of 15-59.
(Source: https://www.mentalhealth.org.uk/a-to-z/b/bipolar-disorder)

Debbie has already started her training, choosing a variety of technical terrains to get her up to speed with the Inca Trail, which is graded as a tough trek.
Whilst the stunning scenery of South America will be an incredible accompaniment in October, there are plenty of inspiring landscapes in the UK to get her fitness to the required level. For example, Debbie has been down to the Seven Sisters in Sussex already, and has found some gruelling steps to practice repetitive climbing, as a this constitutes a large part of the trek.
On top of the training, there’s quite a staggering kit list to get to grips with too!

If you would like to get behind Debbie, please use this link to her Justgiving page to make a pledge;
https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/debbie-richards13…

A message from Debbie:
“I would like to thank all the directors and shareholders at RVL Ltd for their generous donation. I feel honoured to be part of Team MIND and to have the opportunity to support such an amazing & worthwhile charity.

I would have been lost over the past months without access to the information available on their website and more recently the advice from MIND’s legal call centre. (www.mind.org.uk)

Thank you RVL and thank you to my husband, Peter Smith, for all your support.”

Best of luck Debbie – you can do it!
From your friends at RVL.

Machu Picchu trek 2019