Sarah-Anne to take on Great Wall for charity

Sarah-Anne Attwood will be tackling the Great Wall of China in the autumn in aid of Action Cancer.

Sarah-Anne has decided to raise funds for the worthy cause in memory of her grandmother, Claire.

She said: “In April 2015 my grandmother was diagnosed with liver cancer. I took this extremely hard as my grandmother was not just my best friend, but she was like a mum to me. I was able to work from home four days a week at the time to help care for her.

“Fortunately for my granny, her cancer battle was extremely short, 35 days from diagnosis until she passed, but unfortunately for those who were left behind, it’s something in particular I struggle with because I wish we had more time together.”

Sarah-Anne will be travelling to Asia on October 27 and returning home on November 4. The trek is 71km and will be negotiated over five days, with the team of 39 taking on the twists and turns of the Great Wall.

Sarah-Anne hopes to take part in a number of practice treks at Slemish ahead of the charity effort. She explained: “I’ve started breaking in the new walking boots. I’m climbing Slemish Mountain this month and once the weather starts getting better, the group will all get together to do a good few dummy treks. Other than that, I’m upping my gym sessions and pounding the stepper machine.”

Sarah-Anne will be staging a number of fundraising events including bag packs and collections in aid of Action Cancer before her trip.

She has organised a sponsored dog walk on April 21 from Hazelbank Park to Loughshore Park. There is a charge of £10 for entry, a dog bandana and treats. For more information and to register, email [email protected]

An online fundraising page has also been set up. If you would like to make a donation, go to www.justgiving.com/fundraising/sa-attwood2