I woke up in the early hours of this morning to the sounds of soft soaking rains on the roof. The sound of rain on a corrugated iron roof is calming and therapeutic. I turned over and drifted off into a sound, content and peaceful sleep to be rudely awoken by my alarm. It was time to get up and get going to the Dargle Trails Festival. I switched off my alarm, listened to the rain and decided it would be too wet and dangerous to walk today. So I turned over and decided I would go back to sleep!
A nagging thought crept into my consciousnesses. What about all those marshals, the event organisers, the sponsors who were going to be out there because I, and many others, had registered to participate today? If they can be on duty for me, the least I could do was to get my lazy butt out of bed and onto the Trail. So off I went to the Lions River Polo Club. The rain was now a steady drizzle and it was freezing cold. The ground was sodden, slippery with puddles of water everywhere.
A small group, much smaller than usual, gathered at the Polo Club. Sadly it would seem that many other participants had stayed away due to the weather. We gathered at the start line and we were off. Along a farm road, through puddles, along slippery deep tracks we went. Up and up and up and up some more through the hills of the beautiful Dargle Valley we went. I thought the uphill was never going to end. Suddenly a down hill and then again another uphill and some more uphills. Climbing out of the valleys to 
arrive at the top gave rise to indrawn breath views. Looking north and south the valley spread out below and as far as the eye could see.
I had decided to against wearing my trail shoes in favour of my hiking boots and had remembered to take my hiking pole with me. This proved to be the right decision for the weather and the terrain. Then we dropped down into forests with leafy floor and the clean smell of trees.
Coming out of the trees I made a spectacular attempt at human 4 x 4ing by sliding down a slope on both my knees and hands. Muddy and wet and very embarrassed I forged on. Before long I was out of the trees and on my way back to the Polo Club and 10 kms had been done and dusted. By now I was soaking wet, yet my feet were dry thanks to the decision to wear my hiking boots. When I crossed over the finish line the marshals were encouraging and enthusiastic which made up for being wet and cold. They certainly taught me a lesson today. When you commit stick to the plan.
My faithful #LadyMavis was waiting for me to take me home for a warm bath and some dry clothes. It occurred to me how privileged I am to be able to come home to these luxuries. A day of learning and being reminded to be grateful for what I have and what is around me.
So why do I walk! Yes for exercise! Yes for my own well being and sanity! And I am very fortunate to be working with #JLMT and #WomenInBusiness who invest in our youth and country by encouraging Eco Conservation and being environmentally aware. As the CEO and leader of Women In Business, I am dedicating every kilometre that I walk to raising funds and awareness of conservation of our environment. I work in association with The Jonny Lowe Memorial Trust (JLMT) to encourage responsible and educational learning about our precious environments. JLMT has supported many environmental projects. See https://www.womeninbusiness.org.za/jlmt for more details. Please get involved by contacting us for more details on how you can support this very worthy cause.
www.womeninbusiness.org.za 