Morenike does the Bogle!

Goodness, how is it Friday already? And the beginning of a new month too? My goodness, time flies but not only when you’re having fun. Time also flies at an exponential rate when you have mountains and mountains of deadlines and targets to reach! I’ve had so much to write about but sadly I’ve been drowning in the pressures of school and haven’t really had enough time for much else, but today would be different, today I’m doing the Manchester Bogle! *insert applause*

For those who don’t know, the Manchester Bogle is a 55-mile 24-hour fundraising walk around greater Manchester. Yup, it’s crazy. You’d be surprised though; the level of foolhardy required to commit to such a task with little to no training is really not that great! It took my friend all of about 15 minutes to convince me. After talks of bravery, bonding and camaraderie I was sold, never mind that the greater part of the walk takes place at night, in my beloved cold and rainy city! 55 miles, assuming your walking at 15 minutes per mile would take AT LEAST 14 hours to complete. Thinking of it now I’m wondering why I do these things to myself! I remember telling one of my closest friends about it and he said and I quote directly “14 hours?! I’m sure Moses and his people didn’t walk for that long!” but I don’t mind though, I have endured many a long walk in my day and this latest and longest Israelites Journey would clear the memory of Koko Concert whenever I think of long treks! It should be fun! While my mates are partying it up at Circle and getting drunk, I shall be walking… I’m quite interested to see how far I get before I become delirious or start hallucinating!

The route for the Bogle stroll! The airport's on there you know, LOL!

To be honest, my decision to partake in this walk wasn’t based solely on my need to do stupid things in life every once in a while. There is also a far less foolish and more sentimental reason; the fundraising side of things, participants need to raise at least £60 for their chosen charity. This got me thinking about what sort of cause I would like to support and why and it didn’t take me long to decided. A few years ago, I lost my Great Aunt to cancer, the memories of going to visit her in the hospital and watching her literally shrivel away are definitely amongst the most painful that I have. I had somehow been able to put those memories in a box until I recently heard of someone else that was lost to leukaemia. He was in his early twenties, somehow this brought back so many of those memories and some images just never ever leave your mind no matter how much you will them too. Although I never met him, I saw how some of our mutual friends were deeply affected by the loss of someone who was clearly an angel to them all.

My mind manages to explain away the passing of an aged person, mourning them but saying “at least they lived a good, full life.” but when it’s someone closer to my age it seems unfathomable and wholly unfair, I don’t understand it. This is why I have chosen to aid Afam in raising money for the Ellen MacArthur Cancer Trust; they help young people living with and recovering from cancer by teaching them how to sail, essentially giving them their confidence and freedom back. He has already raised a lot of money without much of my influence (A whooping £600+) and dyed his hair blonde for the walk to encourage people to give more but no amount can ever be too much, so I encourage you all to click on the link below and donate whatever you can, and if you can’t donate personally, then forward the link, you never know who might see it and be able to help.

http://www.justgiving.com/Damilola-Ade-Odiachi?utm_source=emailvision&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=fundraisingpage-donation-alert-email

May their gentle souls rest in peace.

On a lighter note, I can’t wait to update you on how the walk is going and all the challenges I’m bound to face along the way! I think you might be able to track my progress through this link when it all goes live! It'd be motivation for me to continue, although in all honesty I might be high on Ibruprofen by the end of it! Haha.

Wish me luck! Xx