In August 2023 I will be climbing Mount Kilimanjaro. Gah!!
Let me give you a bit of background as to how I found myself raising $10k and climbing Mount Kilimanjaro having never climbed a mountain in my adult life - and hating camping.
In February 2021, my Dad was diagnosed with Parkinson's Disease, seeing the effects of this condition on my Dad's life, but also my Mum's has been heart-wrenching.
So, in 2022 I decided to raise money for The Michael J Fox Foundation for Parkinson's Research, I cycled 50 miles and ran a 5k. I hadn't been on a bike in years and I hadn't fun for that length, ever. So I was challenging myself and taking myself outside of my comfort zone already for this amazing charity.
And I didn't want to stop there. An email came from Team Fox at the end of 2022 looking for volunteers to climb Mount Kilimanjaro, so I read it, thought "That's interesting" and didn't think about it again until 2 weeks later when I was with friends and we were declaring our goals for 2023. I said I would apply, thinking I wouldn't be accepted as there were only 12 spots available. I spent the next couple of days writing my application and a few days before Christmas I applied.
To my surprise an hour later I got an email saying I'd been accepted into the Mount Kilimanjaro climb.
So here I am! Exercising 8+ hours a week, researching altitude sickness, going on hikes and buying lots and lots of hiking and camping gear.
One of the things I'm doing to raise the $10,000, I've designed sterling silver earrings and a necklace in the shape of a mountain. All proceeds go to my fundraiser. If you'd like to purchase them or make a donation, I would so appreciate it!
I was recently featured in Hoboken Girl about the climb.