MoonWalk London 2014

“Just want to say a massive Thank You to all at WTW for the time and effort they put in to last night and this morning. Massive thanks too to all the volunteers. Yes, this year’s Moonwalk was ‘brutal’ and I nearly didn’t finish but the volunteers and the mile markers got me through. It is thanks to WTW that I have an amazing army of friends and it is thanks to WTW that I have discovered a steel determination and refusal to give up.”

“I cannot begin to tell you what an amazing night I had….. My day started early as we had a four hour journey to Clapham.
I collected the minibus and then delivered the children to their Aunts and it was onto meet the team…. We had more food on our bus than Tesco's had on their shelves!!…. It all still seemed pretty surreal and I couldn’t quite believe finally the day had arrived…. Arriving at Clapham was the start of our evening and nerves definitely kicked in.
All the bad bits have been said by everyone else but I can only say The Moonwalk is like childbirth as I’ve soon forgotten the bad and am only left with happy memories… The Volunteers were amazing and at times I too was grumpy when hearing that cheerful ‘Morning’…. As we reached the finish line I was called by my name and a wonderful medal giving volunteer encouraged me to take a few steps more… I was greeted with the biggest smile and the best hug ever!
I’m still sad it’s over and cannot wait till next year… It really is addictive and Walk the Walk you rock….”

“Unlike many people who get in touch I don’t have a story. I am deeply thankful that I don’t understand first hand the hurt, sorrow, anger, and upset that so many women, and men (see I did listen to your speech on Saturday!) face in their battle against Breast Cancer. We are so very fortunate that nobody in my family has faced it, and I myself right now look to the end of my thirties feeling fit, knowing my body is currently healthy.

What I do know is right now I’m one of the lucky ones. I want to raise my two young boys knowing that boobs aren’t just a laughing matter, but if they do get poorly there is a whole host of support, and research to help those people those boobs belong to.

So for that reason, I walked the half moon with my Mum and her friends in 2007, my first night away from my 5 month old baby, breast pump in my rucksack for emergency expressing! Inspired by the amazing volunteers I couldn’t wait to get in on the glory so roped in a friend to help Marshall in 2009. Finally like an itch that needed a scratch I had to get those darn 26.2 miles under my belt, which finds me now this evening emailing you-the first time in ages that I’ve sat with my feet up (blister free may I add, thanks to all the helpful advice!) before 9pm!!!

I just wanted to say a massive thank you, to you, to your amazing team at the Walk the Walk office, to the event organisers and of course the volunteers for allowing us to be part of the London Moonwalk 2014. Yes it was cold, yes in an effort of self preservation I had to cover up my cherry-tastic bra, yes we did have to huddle like penguins on a bridge, yes the sound of rustling polythene ponchos will ever be imprinted on my brain, yes I did have to hold my bladder like I was nine months pregnant again and needed to sneeze, yes the thought of another jelly baby induces nausea, yes it was frustrating at times that we couldn’t walk at the pace we’d achieved on our training walks but all of that is so small in the scale of things and pales into insignificance compared to the pain of fighting cancer, the tiredness of chemotherapy, the emotions of telling your family, the insecurities of your body changing.

I started out on Saturday evening a very naive Full Moon Virgin-we’re fit, we’ve trained, we’ll crack it no problems, I thought. Honestly, I can say now it is one of the toughest things I’ve ever endured but the smile remains on my face, even though I had to remove my cherry tattoo that was on my cheek! I’m so proud and want to shout it from the rooftops!

So once again please re-iterate my deepest deepest appreciation to everyone who made it happen. I loved it, and so did my fellow Walking Wine-ing Women team mates. Thank you, thank you, thank you.”

“We are feeling very proud of ourselves for completing the Moonwalk last night and are now tending to our sore feet. I just wanted to say it was an amazing event and wanted to thank you all for organising yet another fantastic Moonwalk – there was such a great atmosphere, everyone knew what they were doing and where to go, the staff were so helpful and all the wonderful volunteers along the route were brilliant. Well done to you all.”

“Dear Nina thank you for masterminding the whole Walk the Walk Moon Walk challenge , it is a tough challenge for anyone but it is fantastic we have been to all but one since 1999 and they have all had a unique set of challenges it’s amazing how people all ways seem to rise to the challenge and sometimes there are things that we would like to improve on but that is what next year is for. This year it’s the weather! Well done every one for the tremendous effort, it’s a pleasure to be a part this wonderful event”

“Thank you to all the organisers, volunteers, member of the public and fellow walkers I encountered along the way whilst completing my first Moonwalk! I have woken up feeling full of emotion this morning and some of your comments have started me grizzling again! At 48 years old, I set myself a challenge a year ago to lose weight, get fit and take part this year. Some of my friends did it last year and I felt very envious as I was morbidly obese and knew I couldn’t join them. Having lost 2 friends in our early 30’s with breast cancer, I had wanted to do it for 15 years and I am very proud to say that I DID IT and, as my daughter and I crossed the finish line at 10.56 yesterday morning, my gorgeous husband was standing there full of emotion and pride and all the commitment, preparation and pain paled into insignificance! My team “The Sassy Sisterhood” raised well over £2000 between us and they were an amazing group of friends to plan, train and walk with. Thanks again for possibly the most amazing night of my life so far!”