School of Health & Wellbeing

IHW Admin's Audrey Dickie describes her experience of participating in the Maggie’s Centre 50 mile challenge, raising funds and awareness, and boosting her wellbeing along the way.

Working from home for the past 10 months has raised quite a few challenges for us all. My biggest challenge was not being as active as I once was and being too close to the biscuit tin. It’s no fun moving from the bedroom, to the kitchen, to the spare room/home office and spending the whole day in that cycle until the PC is switched off at the end of my working day and I then move to the living room!

In December I saw an advert on Facebook for Maggie’s Centres Run50 Facebook Challenge which I was very motivated by this and thought "if we go back to working in the office any time soon I will have no work clothes that fit my ever expanding waistline, this is just what I need to give me a shake-up, and let’s face it 50 miles, that’s less than two miles a day, I am signing up for that!".

I decided I would walk the challenge as running is not really my thing; I have never seen a happy jogger but people who walk usually give you a smile or say hello as they pass. So, feeling very motivated I signed up, sent away for my vest, bought new trainers, charged my Walkman and I was pumped and ready to go on 01 January. Maggie’s also request that you set a fundraising page which they set at £150. I wasn’t sure that I would reach the target, but before the end of December the target was met and I thought "there’s no turning back now".

On 01 January 2021 I set off early in the morning. My first walk was 5 miles, I continued each day until day 5 when …. 'man down, man down' …. I tripped and ended up with torn leggings, skint knees and a bruised ego, but I had almost 35 miles in the bag, so it did not bother me at all. Day 8, it was -4 degrees and frozen snow on the ground so when I reached my 50 mile target, I was delighted. By this time the fundraising page had reached over £450 and in true Audrey fashion I decided if my friends were generous enough to donate 3 times the target, I should walk 3 times the miles, so I announced it on my page and thought "here’s to the next 100 miles".

It has been a bit of an adventure (albeit local adventure). I have walked around my community, around local parks and reservoirs along roads and streets I didn’t even know were there. I have met some lovely creatures on my way - sheep, deer, an owl, fox, squirrels, at least 100 different dogs, a cheeky wee cat who tried to have a swipe at me because I unintentionally frightened it, and a Gruffalo. It’s been cold, wet, snowy and slippery but it hasn’t put me off going out every day wearing my vest with pride to raise awareness of this charity.

I have now completed the 150 miles and the fundraising page has reached over £600 so I do feel that I should try to squeeze in an extra 50 miles if I can. The challenge officially ends on 31 January, but the fundraising page is open until 07 February. If any of my IHW friends and colleagues would like to follow my adventure or make a small donation you can do so on my fundraising page.

What’s next I hear you ask! Well for my next challenge….I intend to have Fizz Friday at the top of Ben Nevis. I will of course be waiting until the fairer weather for this event and dragging Mr D and my youngest son with me!

Audrey Dickie 
IHW Admin

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First published: 19 January 2021