Dog Sledding Open Challenge February 2010
What is it?
Into the arctic circle, sledding over 200Km in 5 days into the wilds of the northern Norway to raise money for RNIB (Royal National Institute of Blind People).
This is a grueling event which test participants physically and mentally and where team work between (wo)man and dog can mean the difference between life and death.
Each participant is given a team of 4-6 dogs that they will have to run and care for, covering distances of up to 60km per day. With miles of uphill climbs and harsh terrain, the mushers will have to work with the dogs, helping the team by pushing and running alongside the sled and all this in temperatures as low as -30ºC!
Why RNIB?
Every day in the UK another 100 people start to lose their sight. A few years ago Catriona’s Dad became one of these people when he was diagnosed with Myopic Macular Degeneration which was complicated with other sight problems.
He was recently registered blind and this was the prompt which got Catriona interested in fundraising for the RNIB.
The RNIB give support for people who are blind and partially sighted from information and advice to practical solutions to every day challenges of living with low vision.
Here is what Catriona has to say:
“It’s funny how things work out. When I started looking at ways of raising money for RNIB I was thinking along the lines of a sponsored run but when I went on the RNIB site to view the fundraising options I found they had nothing local going on. On a whim I clicked on their “far flung adventures” section and lo and behold they had Dog sledding in Norway.
Having two huskies of my own and given my interest in the working side of owning the breed, I was instantly excited about the idea of a 200km dog sled trek above the Arctic Circle.
As a relative newcomer to the world of working sled dogs, I am well aware of the huge amount of training and hard work this event is going to take. Not only will I have to acclimatise myself to the extreme cold but I will also need to have the stamina to work with the dogs for up to 8 hours at a time and be able to get up and do the same again the next day."
Total Raised
"This is a massive challenge and I couldn’t do it without the support of my family, friends, work and sponsors. I would like to say a big Thank You to all these people who have given me their support!”
So far I've raised: £4,801.45
