As most of you know, Rachel has been known to move mountains when it comes to fund raising for Cancer Research UK. Well, if not moving them, then climbing up them. However, this year’s challenge was more about tackling undulating hills. She took part in the Race 100, a sportive cycling event retracing the route of the London 2012 Olympics when legends such as Bradley Wiggins, Chris Froome and Mark Cavendish showed the world how it’s done. The race is one of the most successful legacy events of the Games involving cycling 100 miles from Central London to Essex and back. Not just in one day but in under nine hours. Not for the faint hearted.
Rachel and her husband Simon began training in January for the event. All their regular weekend toil over Dartmoor paid off. The course involved a series of tough-to-cycoe hills which Rachel and Simon sailed up, but forced many cyclists to unclip and walk it.
But the big challenge for Rachel was cycling in a huge event involving 25,000 cyclists. A scary prospect for someone who ‘fesses up to fixation issues. If she sees an obstacle coming up, she ends up hitting it. Avoiding all the other bikes, she said, was terrifying.
The plan was for Rachel and Simon to cycle together but they were parted even before they reached the start line at Buckingham Palace. They hooked up again at the ten mile mark and then lost each other until halfway. At the 90 mile point, Rachel very nearly cracked.
‘They kept saying there were only ten miles to go and I was in such pain,’ she said. ‘Then I started to think about all the friends and family I have lost to cancer and I started crying. I realised I was losing momentum because of my emotion so I sort of rallied myself and once I was within sight of the finishing line, the flood gates really opened.’
The pair finally crossed the line together after just over seven hours of cycling time.
A huge thank you to all of you who supported this amazing effort.
So far Rachel and Simon have raised £13, 825 hope to exceed their target of £14,000. Overall, Rachel has raised more than £152,000 for CRUK over the past 20 years.
It’s never too late to donate:
https://fundraise.cancerresearchuk.org/page/rachels-charity-challenge
