A former Paisley woman who raised more than £11,000 for a hospice by tackling endurance challenges across the world is now preparing for her latest charity hike.
The Cateran Yomp - one of Scotland’s toughest endurance challenges - will return to the beautiful hills and glens of the historic Cateran Trail in Perthshire on June 4 and 5.
Starting at 6am on Saturday and ending in the early hours of Sunday, it challenges teams of brave souls to walk 22, 36 or 54 miles in less than 24 hours.
Last year, during the tenth-anniversary Yomp, 515 participants raised over £400,000 to help soldiers, veterans and their families.
Double the number of soldiers and civilians as last year are preparing to participate in this year’s event.
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So far, 180 teams comprising over 1,000 people have signed up for the 2022 event, with participants travelling as far as Cyprus, Ireland, Luxembourg, Spain and USA.
ABF The Soldiers’ Charity is the Army’s National Charity and, since 1944, has been providing a lifetime of practical and financial assistance to soldiers, veterans and their families across the UK.
Since its launch, the challenge has raised over £4 million for The Soldier’s Charity, with donations funding everything from wheelchair ramps for soldiers’ homes to respite care and personal recovery plans for injured soldiers returning from the front line.
Last year alone, the charity supported 60,000 people in 63 countries worldwide.
Among those taking part is former Paisley woman Margaret Braceland, 59, whose husband Alex worked with ABF The Soldiers’ Charity after serving his country in the Army for 36 years with the Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders.
While living in Paisley for over 20 years, Margaret worked for Accord Hospice, raising over £11,000 for the service through a number of endurance challenges ranging from a 100K five-day trek in Mongolia to a 9,500-foot hike up Mount Rinjani in Indonesia.
Margaret has also trekked through the Wadi Araba desert and completed the Freedom Trail, crossing from France over the Pyrenees into Spain, following in the footsteps of Jews fleeing the Germans during the war.
Her latest challenge was walking across the Sahara Desert.
Having lived in Edinburgh, Colchester, Germany, Glasgow, Germany, Folkestone, Dover and Paisley during their marriage, Margaret moved to Cyprus with her husband Alex - who latterly worked in recruitment before retiring.
This will be Margaret’s sixth Yomp, having first taken part in 2014. She has achieved Gold three times and Silver twice.
Her last attempt was taking part in the virtual Yomp in 2020 when she walked ten miles while quarantined inside her Cyprus apartment. She then climbed the 15 stairs in her block 200 times, the equivalent height from the start line of the Yomp to the Spittal of Glenshee, 340 metres above sea level.
She is currently completing four or five walks per week and training in the gym, and said: “When you think what our soldiers in the British Army have to deal with each day, this is the least I can do.
“Sadly, some don’t come home to their loved ones or return with severe mental health problems, and they need our support. Alex is my support team and knows I love a challenge, so that’s a huge motivator, and I’m very fortunate to have his encouragement.
“Training in Cyprus has been pretty hard – as the event approaches, your training walks need to be around 30 miles in distance, and very few friends want to walk more than an hour!
“The winter months are the best time to walk in the hills, though, as there’s less chance of coming across a snake!”
Major General Tim Hyams CB OBE, CEO of ABF The Soldiers’ Charity, added: “We very much are looking forward to the 11th Cateran Yomp in June.
“Expected to be our biggest Yomp yet, I am delighted to have the opportunity to meet many of our supporters on the 54-mile route. It should be a brilliant weekend, with everyone coming together for one common goal - to support soldiers, veterans and their families.”
For more information, visit https://soldierscharity.org/ or https://www.facebook.com/cateranyomp
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