HG Recruitment Solutions is a firm supporter of The Willow Foundation and all its efforts For over 25 years Willow has created bespoke days out and experiences for seriously ill young adults and their loved ones.
From fun-packed days out for the family or quiet weekends away from it all, to a chance to meet heroes or fulfil a lifelong dream. Each experience is unique and creates precious memories that will stay with the family forever.
HG participates and supports Willow in many ways, but this was the first year we decided to commit to their Annual Challenge!!!, and oh what a challenge it was.
A 26-mile trek along the Jurassic Coast didn’t sound too difficult, so we committed, and our team of intrepid walkers commenced training ((and some!) We knew we needed to train but next time we would definitely train harder and probably on a stair master!! So for a good few weeks, we built up the miles and when the day arrived we were full of excitement and feeling well prepared.
We arrived Friday evening and met the team at Swanage YHA Youth Hostel and were given the brief from the Global Challenge Team. John, Chris, James and Phil, superb ambassadors for Global adventures, and we were tremendously lucky to have the lads with us every step of the way. We then had dinner and got an early night in preparation for the day ahead.
Saturday at 7.00am we set off for our day, the weather was amazing, and this helped to fill us with excitement and anticipation of what lay ahead being able to appreciate fully the stunning coastal views. The first couple of hours started well with beautiful views and a good terrain. We then faced the biggest challenge of the trek – hundreds of steps and an almost vertical hill to climb (and remember what goes up must come down), the distance seemed to be never-ending. We all struggled, even some of our super-fit team members. We were out of breath, aching and losing the will to carry on, a few tears were shed. Never have we been happier to stop for a lunch break, where we caught our breath and refocused, along with assessing the damage to our bodies – blisters, muscle and joint aches, and breathing issues. We stopped for an hour’s lunch and had some medical treatments before we set off (reluctantly) for the afternoon trek. The afternoon, although not as intense was super tough, as we were so worn out, but we rallied each other on and finished approximately 16 miles of the challenge. We returned to our air B&B for the night for a well-deserved long soak in the bath and a hot meal before collapsing into bed by 9.00pm, before the alarm woke us up with the local rooster at 5.00am to start all over again…………
Day two, was tougher, already achy, we hadn’t recovered properly, but we got on with the job in hand, never losing our focus of what we were doing it for, the supporters sponsoring us, and the people we were helping. There were lots more hills, stairs and even tougher terrain, but 10 miles later we knew the end of the challenge was in sight as was the beach in Weymouth.
When we hit the finish line on the beach, the weather had changed and we knew it was over and we could head home. Feeling proud of what we had achieved we began to laugh, cry and celebrate with prosecco provided by Global Adventures. Not only had we personally tested ourselves, but we had raised £5,000 for the Willow Foundation. This is also being matched pound for pound to give Willow £10,000 by HG who couldn’t be prouder of those who took part both friends and colleagues alike. which equates to over 8 special days!!!
Although we faced some serious challenges during the trek, the team all supported each other and showed real grit, determination and teamwork. Every time it felt unachievable the thought of helping change just one day for somebody seriously unwell and their loved ones, kept us focused so we didn’t give up.
Thank you to everybody who has supported us through kind messages sponsorship and donations, and especially to the team at Global Adventures, it makes it all worthwhile.
