Hull branch volunteers Duncan and Isabel, with the help of family and friends, managed to raise over £2000 for the branch by taking part in the London Marathon Walk.
As Hull Samaritans' Fundraising Officer, Duncan is no stranger to dreaming up wonderful ways of raising money for the branch and he decided to lead by example last month by taking part in the London Marathon Walk.
A 26-mile trek around the same course the runners take in on the better-known Marathon earlier in the year, there was huge satisfaction for completing the course and raising so much money for the branch, all while taking in some of the famous sights around the capital.
Duncan took part along with friends and family, including fellow Hull Samaritans volunteer Isabel, their daughter Eleanor, his brother Christopher and friends Glyn and Gill, all of whom managed to complete the stamina test.
Isabel said: "I can't believe I did it, I loved it and would like to do it again! We saw bits of London that were new to us, met lots of lovely people (including Sams from other branches) and, most importantly, made lots of money for Hull Samaritans.
"We are so grateful for the support and generosity of family and friends."
Duncan added: "Although a challenge the route was so interesting that it reduced the pain of walking. I was very proud that everyone in our team completed the route and that we reached our target of £2,000 for the Hull Samaritans branch."
Taking in the sights and sounds of London, while spreading the Samaritans message
After spotting the Walk on the Samaritans' website, Duncan and Isabel set about training for the hike around London's streets and made some interesting discoveries closer to home.
Duncan said: "We were looking for ideas [for fundraising] and saw the walking marathon on the Samaritans website and were inspired.
"We thought a full marathon would be more of a challenge than the half marathon option and more likely to raise money."
Isabel added: " Our training involved walking, both before and after work. We discovered a whole new and enjoyable world of footpaths and walks on our doorstep!"
So having discovered new places to walk in East Yorkshire and enjoying everything London has to offer, as well as meeting great people along the way, the walk sounds like a perfect day out.
However, such an arduous hike is not without the odd problem, as Duncan explains.
"When you get your head around it, the day was easier than we expected, but we had our moments before lunch and at the end when things were harder.
"At different times we struggled, especially as one of our team had problems with their feet and shoes. In a way we were lucky that my brother is a serious walker and he kept us at a steady pace!
"By and large we were pleased at how it went. All our training paid off!"
For members of the branch, it will be heartening to know that doing this challenge was made a little easier knowing the support it would give to Hull Samaritans, enabling us to continue our work to be there for anyone who is feeling like things are getting on top of them.
Duncan said: "We really wanted to hit our fundraising target of £2,000, which we were pleased we did.
There was no way we were not going to complete it even if we crawled the last bit. What was nice was that we did it as a team."
Having the support of others always helps, as well we know. Well done Duncan and team - glad there was no need to crawl in the end!