All the way back in 2021, I participated in a Ultra White Collar Boxing event. It was an awesome experience and an amazing challenge that I worked towards for 3 months, that many of you helped me along the way and in total we raised over £1700 for Cancer Research. 

I dedicated my whole self into training for this and of course, I documented my pain along the way; which can still be seen here:https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/embond. That link has many sweaty pictures of my face in all kinds of states, posts all about my personal pain of training and an essay about the very real reasons why funding research for Cancer Research is important to me. (Please click on the link to read about G, Derek, Terry and Chris.)

Since then however, with no main event to focus on, all those positive lifestyle changes that I was so proud of making, fell away. Almost immediately... like that night. I started smoking again, drinking alcohol, my diet when straight back to crap and although I did try to keep up some semblance of a exercise routine, over time that fell apart too. Especially when the rugby season came to an end. All that work I'd put in and by May 2022, I wasn't far from being right back to the piss-poor level of fitness I started with. 

Life happened, changes were made, fast-forward to September 2023. Honestly, I've been feeling a bit lost. My self-confidence has been low, mental health rocky at best, I feel like I've been constantly starting over, like I'm at the bottom of the hill walking up it, only to reach the top and realise I'm somehow still the bottom. Only, everyone else seems to be reaching the top of there hills and starting the next bit of the journey, where things flatter and the flowers smell nice... I don't know. I'm rambling a bit but I hope my point is clear. 

Anyway, I got an e-mail from Team Ultra which read: "As a huge thank you for being one of our top fundraisers for Ultra Events, we are inviting you on the opportunity of a lifetime to join our team on a trip to Mount Kilimanjaro!"

I dismissed it at first, but then I thought about it. I researched the practicalities of it, the sort of preparation and training required, the ethics etc... and by the end of the week I'd quit vaping/smoking. I want to give my lungs and my body the best physical chance of reaching the summit. I know it's going to be a challenge but I also know I can train, I've done that before. Although endurance training/hiking is completely different to anything I've ever done before (and is much less enjoyable than punching things) I know I can make the changes needed to prepare and I think I can get to the point where I can trek uphill 8 days in a row, physically instead of metaphorically, and reach the top of Africa's tallest mountain. What I'm not sure I can do, is raise a massive £4000 to do it, at least not in less than a year. Much less likely in 8-ish months. But I know I need to try, I need to rise to this new challenge. And as before I'll use this page a bit of a training progress blog to keep my self accountable and the internet supplied with lots of embarrassing selfies of my bright red and sweaty face. </