Putting her best foot forward

Tara Garritt is putting her best foot forward to help sick and disabled babies and children by tackling a five-day hike in India in October. Tara first got the walking bug after tackling a trek in Jordan from the Dead Sea to Petra in April last year in temperatures up to 40C… and now she’s heading to the Himalayas as part of her mission to raise £10,000 for vital research.

In this Q&A-style blog she tells us all about her epic Jordan challenge and what’s in store in 2016:

What inspired you to undertake the Jordan trek last year?

I first saw details of this trek about six years ago; Petra has long been a place I wanted to see and I thought this would be a wonderful way of doing it. Unfortunately at the time I wasn’t able to go but then in 2012 I realised I was in a rut, in all areas of my life, and I need to challenge myself. Fate then played a part when an email advertising the trek dropped into my inbox! It was just what I needed, a channel to push myself not only to get fit but to use my professional skills to raise money. Once I started, I had the exercise bug and, as my confidence grew, so did ways to raise money.

What were the high points of the trip? And the low points?

It’s a cliché but I loved every single moment of it! The adventure started at Heathrow, meeting my fellow trekkers, and it hasn’t ended – lots of us are still in frequent contact, meeting up as often as we can. It was amazing to walk through such incredible, dramatic scenery and then to eat round a campfire at night, sleeping under the stars. We reached peaks of some 1,400m, so the views were pretty spectacular, especially on our last day, just before we entered Petra. We were fortunate that we entered this magical city from the opposite side to the main entrance, so it was completely breathtaking to suddenly turn a corner and find ourselves approaching the monastery, just our group, uninterrupted by the rest of the visitors! As we hugged each other, I think we all shed a little tear to have made it that far!

I don’t think I stopped smiling, or laughing, the whole time we were there. There were odd moments when tiredness made you doubt if you really could cross that narrow ledge with a 1,400m drop but we all helped and encouraged each other through. The ‘bathroom’ facilities needed a pragmatic approach, but that made the Turkish bath feel all the more deserved!

The food was wonderful; we were literally in the middle of nowhere and the Bedouin guides couldn’t have been nicer or friendlier.

How are you feeling about the Himalayas trek? What are you expecting?

These next six months are going to fly by…writing this I realise that’s all I’ve got! As with Jordan, I focus on the training and hitting my sponsorship target so, to be honest, I haven’t thought about it as much as I might have. It doesn’t quite feel real yet. We’re away for 11 days - due to the remoteness of the trek itself, we start walking on Day Four.

I’m excited about the overnight train sleepers. I know I probably shouldn’t be, when you think of the practicalities, but there’s something about that shared adventure, all in bunk beds, with the expectation of what’s to come. We’re above the snow line in the Himalayas but at that time of the year we’d be unlucky for it to be that cold so we can enjoy the trails leading us through villages, meadows and pine and rhododendron forests. Trekking in these mountains is going to be magical, but at heights of 3,600m it will bring its own physical challenges. The icing on the cake will be visiting the Hindu temple in Dharamsala, the Taj Mahal in Agra and experiencing the chaos of Delhi.

You’ve set yourself a big target… what keeps you motivated, both with your treks and with your fundraising?

I realise that I’m very fortunate to be able to take part in these treks and visit some amazing places. Taking days to reach them under your own steam makes you appreciate it all even more as you soak up the smells, sights and life around you. But the reason for all of this is to raise as much money as possible for Action Medical Research and I’m determined to work until I raise £10,000.

The decision to help Action Medical Research was another of those things fate took a hand in. My husband lost his son many years ago to a very rare condition and, as I read more about the research they do, I was stunned to see a study was listed on the 2014 funding round, starting just as I left for Jordan. That, and the fact that Alex had a two-foot Paddington Bear (the charity’s mascot) as a treasured reminder, meant it was a done deal. That connection makes it very personal and with an ever-growing number of nieces and nephews, we’re grateful for their good health.

What's next after India?

Well, funnily enough, I do have plans! I’m going to see the Northern Lights in February 2017 with a dear friend I met trekking in Jordan. It’s just for fun: four days trekking and 4x4ing.

My next charity trek is to the Simien Mountains in Ethiopia where we’ll climb to the highest point in the country. Weather permitting, we can see all the way to Eritrea.

I’ve also got (yet to be discussed with my husband) a desire to be part of the Mount Kilimanjaro trek in September 2017 so watch this space!

To support Tara’s fundraising, please visit action.org.uk/sponsor/TaraGarritt16