Kentish Gazette Canterbury & District
Helping hand
A number of charities have been given a helping hand from philanthropists across the county. The Kent Community Foundation, which helps organisations link up with donators, has handed out a staggering £43,948 to various good causes in the Canterbury district. The donations include £1,000 to Porchlight, £5,610 to the Canterbury and District Early Years Project and £710 to Kent Search and Rescue. Visit www. kentcf.org.uk. A determined deputy head teacher has finished the toughest foot race on earth with a chest infection.
Michelle Smith’s bid to complete the world famous Marathon Des Sables looked all but over when she fell ill two days into the six-day trek through the Sahara Desert.
But, dosed up on antibiotics, the 38-year-old battled on to cover 156 miles across the sands of Morocco in temperatures of more than 55 degrees.
“The heat was unbearable but somehow I managed to finish it,” she said.
“The doctors who were with us put me on antibiotics, and I had quite a lot of problems with my feet. It all became a bit of a head game for me.”
Mrs Smith, of Riverside Road, Canterbury, tackled the race with her husband Scott.
“I’d probably say it was one of the hardest things I’ve ever done,” she said.
“I’m really pleased I finished but then I couldn’t have done anything else – I had to carry on.”
Mr Smith, 48, had swapped one extreme for the other, having seven weeks before trekked 430 miles across the desolate icy plains of Canada in the Yukon Ultra race.
“His race was quite a different experience from mine,” said Mrs Smith, who works at St George’s secondary school in Gravesend.
“He didn’t enjoy the heat so much – he prefers the cold.”
The couple, who teach climbing and mountaineering, raised more then £10,000 for the international children’s charity Hope for Children Charity.
They are now preparing to take on a self-supported expedition across the Antarctic.
Mrs Smith said: “There will be lots of training and we will have to be constantly supporting each other throughout. “You can’t put a foot wrong.” To donate visit mds2017.everydayhero.com/uk/michelle-andscott.