Vietnam, Cuba, Peru...

By Mark Smith

In cycling across Vietnam and Cuba, both in support of The Royal Marsden, I have been fortunate enough to experience the physical, mental and emotional challenges that such events entail.

Very soon into these challenges the groups I was part of have formed a great sense of camaraderie, irrespective of age, gender, size or fitness levels. I have made some great friends on these challenges.

I would encourage anyone thinking about a challenge to do it. It’s simple: sign up, fundraise, and go out and do it! My experiences have been nothing but positive, and I’ll be doing my fourth overseas challenge, the China trek, later this year.

Fundraising

Just mentioning The Royal Marsden is normally enough for people to dig deep into their pockets which illustrates the tough reality that lots of people have had family or friends treated at the hospital. Indeed, this was the factor that started my fundraising over seven years ago.

Highlights

One afternoon cycling in Vietnam we cycled past a school just as the bell went. A group of around ten schoolboys jumped on their rusty old bikes and cycled with us for a few miles – they even tried to race us at one point.

On the Inca Trail a few years ago, I experienced the breathtaking view of Machu Piccu just after sunrise. It was such a great way to arrive, having trekked across varying terrain, altitudes and weather conditions – we felt like we really deserved it!