Machu Picchu trek 2019
Mar, 2019
RVL is proud to announce its 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 along the Inca Trail up to Machu Picchu, which is one of the hardest physical challenges you can set yourself! Coping with long, hard days and the added difficulty of trekking at altitude, Debbie will no doubt be pushing herself to her limit. Regardless, all her sponsors will be rooting for her from start to finish.
The mental health charity:
MIND is an extremely worthwhile mental health charity that makes a huge difference for everyone who comes into contact with it. Debbie’s personal story is particularly inspiring, and we hope it proves to be a fantastic experience and a significant fundraiser. 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 own life too.”
About 1 in every 100 adults will have a form of bipolar disorder at some time in their life. This is a mental health condition that mainly affects mood. The majority of people develop the condition between the ages of 15-59.
(Source: https://www.mentalhealth.org.uk/a-to-z/b/bipolar-disorder)
Training:
Debbie has already started her training for the trek (which is graded as tough). She has chosen a variety of technical terrains to get her up to speed with the Inca Trail. Whilst the stunning South American scenery will be an incredible accompaniment in October, there are plenty of inspiring landscapes in the UK too! Using these will be key to increasing her fitness to the required level. For example, Debbie has been to the Seven Sisters Country Park in Sussex already. Here, she found some gruelling steps to practice repetitive climbing, which will form a large part of the trek. On top of the training, there’s quite a staggering kit list to get to grips with too!
The fundraising part:
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 for their generous donation. I feel honoured to be part of Team MIND. I’m glad to have the opportunity to support such an amazing & worthwhile mental health charity.
I would have been lost over the past months without access to the information available on their website. More recently the advice from MIND’s legal call centre has been invaluable. (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.
