Debs' MoonWalk London

For almost 20 years our amazing supporters from all over the world have been joining us for the famous MoonWalk London and together with our other challenges have raised an incredible £112 million so far! Debs Horsfall from Scotland shares her experiences.

Maybe it's the bright lights of the big city? The sheer scale of the event? Or maybe it's just the prospect of a weekend away? Whatever it is, it's something special that draws me back to The MoonWalk London year after year! My first ever MoonWalk was the Full Moon in London in 2005 but since moving back to my native Scotland as well as taking part in The MoonWalk Scotland event, I've travelled back to London three times for the Half Moon.

In 2016 excitement starts as soon as I leave home and meet up with my Walking partners - wearing my bra t-shirt in the airport gets a few funny looks and some smiles of recognition. The cabin crew spot us immediately and sneak us some wine "for after you've crossed the finish line". This year I see the famous pink tent as we come into land at Heathrow, and squeak excitedly!

As we get closer to Clapham the enormity of the event starts to hit. The sheer number of Moonwalkers everywhere you turn! Passing restaurants that are packed with feathers and sequins and fairy lights! And then we're there - MoonWalk City. And the nerves kick in. Time flies and off into the night with thousands of other Walkers we go. We're tourists with a twist - how many people get to see this side of London?! We play a game of 'spot the landmark' and it distracts us while we Walk mile after mile. We admire a twinkly bridge that's unremarkable by day, wonder "where do all the pigeons go at night", and joke about the Queen being in bed in her PJs as we pass Buckingham Palace. Every corner, every crossing or just every 100m the bright yellow t-shirts of the Volunteers guide us through parts of London we've never seen, always with a smile and a "well done" to keep us going.

And then it's one mile to go and we get an unexpected burst of energy. We can see the Moon Balloons of MoonWalk City in the distance and then the twinkly lights leading us to the Finish Line. We did it! We have our medals! It's exhilarating and exhausting and suddenly all we want to do is sleep.

The next day I don't remove my medal till I'm going through airport security on my way home. I may look exhausted, I may be walking a little slower, but I'm a London MoonWalker. And the best news? MoonWalk Scotland is only three weeks away.........

Debs xx

Join us on the 13th May 2017 as we celebrate The 20th MoonWalk London with a ‘Roaring Twenties’ theme... unite with us against breast cancer and help make a difference.