Hoorah! The Wii Fit Guy actually had some nice things to say to me this morning! Which was good, because I needed to hear him say something nice.
So, I promised to tell you what this was all for. Here we go!
What is it about?
It's about me, and friends (who will now be referred to as The D Team!) taking on a high wire obstacle course in Dalby Forest, Yorkshire. The date is yet to be securely fixed, but it will either be in mid August or very early September.
The course in question is run by a company called Go Ape. Since they themselves say it best, this is what they describe themselves as:
...we build giant obstacle courses up in the trees using ladders, walkways, bridges and tunnels made of wood, rope and super-strong wire, and top it all off with the country’s best zip lines (including the longest at 426 metres – check it out on You Tube).
We then kit people out with harnesses, pulleys and karabiners, give them a 30 minute safety briefing and training and let them loose into the forest canopy, free to swing through the trees.
So that's zip wires, nets, tunnels, bridges. Oh, did I mention I'm claustrophobic, and I still have remaining issues with heights? Quite honestly, I'm also not in the right shape to take on a challenge like this. Which is why it's a challenge at the end of the day! Let's see what the course we're taking on has to offer during the two-three hours that it's estimated to take to complete it:
- Highest point: Site 4 Zip Wire 35m
- Longest Zip Wire: Site 4 Zip Wire 250m
- Longest crossing: Indian Bridge (site 3) 15m
- Total length of all crossings: 888m
- Number of crossings: 37
- Number of sections: 6
I will complete this. Why am I doing it? I want to raise money for JDRF. I know I'm not alone in thinking this is an amazing charity that is doing really important work. They need our help. If that means I have to do something stupid, something beyond my capabilities, and something that's going to be really hard work for me, so that I can try and support them as much as I can - well, then I'm going to do it.
I'll be keeping you updated along the way, with more training reports, videos (almost certainly complete with the A Team theme tune, I'm sure), and more. What I'm hoping for is your support.
I will be setting up a fixed page on here in the next couple of days, with all the details - details of the event, members of The D Team, and links to a page where you can make secure donations if you feel so inclined (which I hope you do!) I hope that when these details are up, you'll help spread the word, so you can all watch my quite probable humiliation, and help the team raise money for a fantastic cause.
No, it's not a marathon in the literal sense, but getting ready for this is going to be just as gruelling for me, if not more.
And that's Day Four
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Mad, Becky, mad! There's got to be a good reason we came down from the trees in the dim and distant past! Wishing you every success! :)
oh my goodness, I could never do that. went to a ropes course in junior high and I refused to participate. Heights are not my thing. At all.
that being said, it's awesome you plan on doing it and for JDRF, too.
I have done one of the Go Apes before and they are soo much fun! it does take alot of effort and boy do you ache the next day but it is good exercise and a great laugh! However i did do it pre-diagnosisso thinking if i were to do it now i would probably have a couple of hypos...and thats prob not the best situation being 30m from the ground lol. I have a album on fb check it out :)