Cheryl’s Arctic Challenge part 2!
Part 2 of Cheryls Arctic Challenge – The weeks that changed everything!
So… the deposit was paid. And then reality hit.
In a matter of weeks, I’d be doing a trek. In the Arctic. With no one else I knew. And what better time of year to start training than dark mornings and darker nights? They definitely weren’t working in my favour. I had a matter of weeks to get fitter than I’d been in years.
And what felt like no time at all to raise the money I’d pledged to the wonderful Charlie and Carter Foundation.
In those early days, as I processed it and started confessing to people what I’d done, I did wonder if they thought I’d finally lost the plot. It felt like no time to prepare my body — which, at that point, felt like it was fighting me more than supporting me. There were days my endometriosis floored me. Days I questioned what on earth I’d done. Days I thought, “This is ridiculous. Who do you think you are?”
But something had shifted. For so long I’d been in survival mode. Hospital mode. Waiting mode. This was the first time in years I was choosing something for me. Something hard. Something bold.
And I had Terry backing me all the way.
Training didn’t look glamorous. It wasn’t aesthetic gym selfies. It was walking when I didn’t feel like walking. It was building strength slowly. It was listening to my body instead of being angry at it.
And the fundraising…
That felt vulnerable. Asking for support is uncomfortable. Sharing your “why” publicly is uncomfortable. Letting people see how much it means to you is uncomfortable.
But do you know what I learned?
People want to help. People care. People believe in you sometimes before you believe in yourself. Those early weeks weren’t just about getting ready for the Arctic.
They were about rebuilding trust with my own body.
Rebuilding confidence.
Rebuilding momentum.
