I'm not sure how we ended up as multicoloured cowgirls, but seven stetson-wearing ladies of a certain age rocked up at Chichester College raring to go on either a 5 or 10 mile walk, in aid of St Wilfrid's Hospice on Saturday evening. Having spent a couple of months organising, making, buying, selling, donating and attending, members of Aldwick Revival were ready to go.
We got there with plenty of time to register, get our glowstick bracelets on and attend the warm-up. It was like a short aerobics session and the weather was so close and muggy that evening, it certainly got me hot and bothered! This was when I realised the plastic stetson (thanks to David P for buying those) and double-thickness neckerchief (kindly made by Maureen from donated fabric from Caroline) might not be such a great idea 😒
At 8pm it was time for the countdown at the startline with 700 other walkers in a sea of orange shirts. So many people all walking along the Centurion Way! The maps below are from the St Wilfrid's website showing the two walks - 5 and 10 mile routes.
The crowds were thick under the trees on the pathway up to the Lavant turn off where we gratefully received more drinks and a banana to complete the rest of our journey. Shortly afterwards, we parted company with the 10 milers who diverted off to the left and we didn't see our group again until the next morning on Facebook! No, very unsportingly we didn't wait until midnight for the others at the college - a cuppa and sit down was waiting. 😊 (Wine for some. I didn't mention your name, Penny!)
The road from this point was practically clear of orange t-shirts right through to the theatre and Chichester town centre. We met our two supporters standing outside a pub (imagine!?) on our way into Priory Park where we were invited to write a memory card and light a candle for people we'd lost. It meant a lot, as that's why we were all walking. The statistics show that we are all likely to know someone who will need specialist end-of-life care one day.
Refreshments were provided for the last leg of the walk. We thought we'd manage to walk it in under 2 hours, but the sheer mass of walkers at the outset meant we were back to the college in almost exactly 2 hours.
I loved the wooden owl medals we received on the finish line. Mine will double as a Christmas bauble this year.
Penny, Kim and I had a fabulous chat all the way round, we met some lovely people and were impressed by the smooth running of the event. It was fun and had the added bonuses of getting our steps in and raising money for a great cause.
A big Well Done to the fundraising efforts of Penny and Caroline, as well as the rest of the team who all contributed time and effort, not forgetting hard cash to reach our total of around £1000. A massive thank you to all the ARWI ladies who attended, bought, sold, collected and supported throughout.
Another big Well Done must go to the fundraising team at St Wilf's and all the other staff and volunteers who organised, checked us in, checked us out, handed out refreshments, encouragement and directions on the night.
Lastly, to our two favourite supporters who escorted a lone woman walker to the finish line, Brian and David. Where would we be without you?! 🤣
Thanks for reading,
Sarah x
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