Coastrek. The who, the why, the what the hell

It's only been in recent years that I've really been interested in getting and keeping fit, and I can honestly say I am about 500% fitter now at 41 than I was at 21.

At 21 I was soft, squashy, lardy.

I've toyed with swimming and running (slow jogging) over the years, I've settled lately into a routine of mainly jogging, with a bit of yoga.

So now, it's time to see how fit I really am. And while we're at it, how mentally tough.

On 1 March I'm walking with a team of most fabulous ladies 50km from Palm Beach to Balmoral as part of Coastrek, a yearly charity walk which raises funds for The Fred Hollows Foundation.

Fred Hollows was a rare and talented individual, blessed with both the desire to get out of his comfort zone to help others, and the medical skills to make a difference once he got there.  He was instrumental in creating a level of awareness about avoidable blindness, which afflicts 39 million individuals world wide.

4 out of 5 of these people could have their sight restored, it's not a complex procedure at all.  But they lack cash and access to a qualified surgeon.  In most cases it's caused by cataracts, a clouding of the lens of the eye.  An operation to cure cataracts can cost as little as $25.

The money raised by the Foundation enables education of local doctors, trains them and other staff in the procedure and funds the facilities which provide the service.  Every person who is cured returns to their family and village no longer blind, and able to contribute to the livelihoods of themselves and their families.

It's hard to be a cynical old biatch faced with cause like this.  So we are walking, and walking, and walking.  We are discovering more and more about ourselves and one another with every walk.  We are talking and talking and listening and listening, and interrupting too.  Sometimes (not often) we are silent.  Sometimes we whinge, other times we marvel at the beauty of the part of Australia we inhabit.  We speak of our families, our children, our work, hopes and dreams.  We are outraged.  We are empathetic.  We coach each other.  We peak and trough.

Our feet hurt.

And it's all for Fred and the people he wanted to help, who he still helps today, thanks to an incredible vision...about vision.

If this post makes you feel anything at all, even nauseated with the cheesiness, please, to shut me up, go to our donation page and give us a bit of cash to give to Fred.  Here is the link.

Thank you.  We all thank you.  By the way, our team is the Desperate Heightswives.

And furthermore, in preparation for this tremendous act of physical endurance, we are all attempting Febfast.  We are not asking for sponsorship for this, but if you did have a yearning to sponsor someone for voluntarily coming off the grog for a month, please click on this link.