When I told James that we'd won a week in Nepal, I'm pretty sure he imagined we'd be visiting temples, doing some sight seeing, maybe a bit of adventure sports or a safari. What I doubt he had in mind is what I dragged the poor blighter into. Of our 5 full days in Nepal, 2 of them were spent digging, laying & burying a 5km pipeline to provide a safe, clean, reliable water supply to Kakani - the village we were to run through on the Nepal marathon. It was incredibly hard graft, using only traditional hand tools - the only things available in rural Nepal! The team included around 80 runners, as well as the Nepalese Armed Police Force who have a local training ground, and the villagers. Notably almost all the villagers helping were female, and they were rela powerhouses - another reason the Nepalese women have become a true inspiration to me! [Read my last blog post if that's news to you]. Here I am with my new Nepalese friends: The route went through forests, under roads, down cliffs and generally through some very inaccessible areas. There were terrifying moments when you were convinced you were going to slide/fall down the moment and indeed a couple of people did - thankfully no-one came to any harm though. It was an amazing project to be part of though. Working alongside the runners, police and villagers created a real sense of community, culture and fun. As well as working very hard to achieve something outstanding there was also a lot of dancing and cheering. It was laborious and I still have blisters more than two weeks on, but thinking about it brings an absolutely massive smile to my face. The very talented Ben Arthur made a short film of it. See if you can spot James & I in our Cundall '40' t-shirts:
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorChloe is running 1000 miles to raise money for Global Action Nepal. She's also an engineer and a Mum. Archives
August 2017
Categories |