"On that first trip I felt my worries melt away”

Over the last decade, Claire Guise – Marie Curie’s Head of Health and Safety – has taken on some really challenging fundraising treks through the Grand Canyon, the Great Wall of China, across Vietnam and up Mount Olympus. Here she shares what she learnt along the way.

My first trek, back in 2012, was the Grand Canyon, which I did to raise money for the Big Build Appeal at the Marie Curie Hospice, West Midlands. At the time we were raising money to build the new hospice and we needed to raise £7 million to match the lottery funding.

I wanted to go and the icing on the cake was that we’d end up in Las Vegas for a celebration dinner. I thought to myself… I can handle that.

Amazing scenery

The Grand Canyon was amazing. I’ve always wanted to go back, actually, so I’m returning in September for my second Grand Canyon trek. We’re going through a different part of the Canyon and will also take in the Zion National Parks. I feel very spoiled to be able to say that I’ll be doing the Grand Canyon for a second time.

My second trek was the Great Wall of China. Not the whole length of it, because it’s really long, but the tourist-y bit where it’s in good condition and the less tourist-y bit where it can get a little scary. After China I did Vietnam, which was beautiful.

And then I did the hardest trek I’ve ever done for Marie Curie, which was Mount Olympus in Greece. When they say ‘Mount’ they mean proper mountain! And the Greek heat meant it was very physically demanding.

Learning about yourself

I caught the trekking bug after my first trip to the Canyon because I learnt a lot about myself and realised how these experiences change you.

There are two key aspects to getting ready for a trek – one is the physical side, being fit and ready to trek. When I signed up for my first trek, I didn’t even own a pair of walking boots! You can tell from that what level I was starting from. So I learnt that I really enjoyed walking and the preparation.

The other side of it is the fundraising – it’s something that makes a lot of people hesitate, because it’s a big commitment. There’s always a set target you have to achieve, and it can seem quite daunting at first. But I learnt that fundraising can actually be really fun.

Hitting your targets

I think the fundraising target for my first trek was around £3,000 – with the help of a friend, we managed to raise about £7,000, which was just brilliant. A lot of people around me were fundraising through big one-off events, which seemed very stressful. Instead, I took a little and often approach.

You have to be quite cheeky, but in a professional way. So, ask anyone and everyone. People will support you in so many ways. If people are clearing out their houses, they’ll give you their children’s clothes or old books and DVDs – and you think, well, what can I do with these donations to turn them into fundraising? I learnt how to eBay like a pro. I’m now known as eBay Queen in our house.

Family and friends are so supportive. If you arrange something like a girls’ night and just lay out tables with things for sale and maybe put out some drinks and snacks, you can make quite a lot of money. But it also turns into a social thing. So much so that when I’ve had time off between treks, I’ve had my family and friends asking, ‘When’s your next fundraising night?’

Overcoming fears

Before I went on that first Grand Canyon trek, I was the person who’d want to take their straighteners with them and the idea of not having proper toilets would have worried me. I’m scared of heights. We spent a lot of time in open water. I don’t like bugs or snakes. All of these fears were things I was potentially going to face. But I learnt that I’m not so precious after all.

When we arrived at the top of the Canyon on day two of us being away, it was just so beautiful. You can’t put it into words. We thought we knew what to expect but all of those worries just disappeared. You’ve got no mobile phone signal, no access to technology. I remember the first night in camp, looking up at the stars which were so visible because of the lack of pollution. It made the day-to-day worries of life melt away.

It makes me sound like a hippy, but I do think I found myself. My husband could see the difference that the life-changing experience of being on that trek had on me. I caught the bug then and there. I’d recommend going on a trek to anyone.

Find out more about our overseas challenges  .