Heroic 1000-milers Dianne McLeish and Zoe Foster have just walked 40 miles through the Sahara raising £8792.88 precisely for Help for Heroes!
Have any more challenging miles been walked this month than by friends Dianne and Zoe? The pair are feeling elated after returning from the Sahara, having survived burning sun, foot-dragging sand and smelly camels to contribute a huge £9k to an epic £74,000 overall haul.
Says Dianne: ‘There were some very steep sand dunes and at times it felt like we were walking through treacle. But we soon learned that it was better to walk up on the tips of the dunes rather than trying to climb up the steep sides, and the skies at night were amazing – so full of stars!”
The friends have been doing #walk1000miles every year since 2017, and with the help of Slimming World have shifted a combined 11 stone – and kept it off by walking daily. Dianne: “Doing the this challenge helps motivate us and get us over the door on the cold wet days when you can’t be bothered and makes us fitter and healthier. Due to the challenge I joined a local long distance walking group and then joined the Moray Mountaineering Club as I found I wanted to do more challenging walks. #walk1000miles is great fun and it’s opened our eyes to what is out there and gets us going to places we have never been and meeting up with likeminded people.“
#walk1000miles has been a great springboard for the pair, who since 2017 have aimed to add a new stretching challenge to their year of activity. Dianne says: “Over the last few years Zoe has done the Half Moon, Full Moon and the Over the Moon Ultra walks and I’ve done Ben Nevis and South Africa charity treks. We look forward to trying a new challenge every year. We choose Help for Heroes as the charity as I had served in the RAF as a medic for over 33 years and Zoe used to be an RAF air-cadet so both have connections to the military. For both Zoe and I it was an honour and a privilege to have taken part in this memorable trek.”
