When we set ourselves the challenge of walking 100km in just three days, we knew we needed to be thoroughly prepared. Some of our team walk long distances regularly, and others don't. We're very much a mixed ability group, and this had to be taken into consideration when planning our route.
We spent a long time considering our options before we settled on The Leeds Country Way. At 62 miles long (almost 100km) it's the perfect route for our challenge. With some minor adjustments we knew we could extend the walk to just over 100km, and, just like magic, there is our 100km walk. The route also encircles the entirety of Leeds. As an organisation that supports women from every corner of Leeds, it was important to us that our route reflected this.
Although that might sound like a quick and easy planning meeting, we still had a lot to think about. As we mentioned, our team is very much a mixed ability group, some members of staff walk long distances every weekend and have completed challenges such as the Three Peaks, while others prefer a short stroll to the park. We have members of staff with long-covid which has affected their physical health, and others with joint and muscle issues that make walking long distances challenging at the best of times. We needed to consider that many of our team are parents and would need to arrange childcare to participate in our walk. We had to remember that not every staff member can drive and rely on public transport to get to and from places, so our start and end points each day had to consider this. Overall, a lot of things to think about! In the end, it was agreed that 5 members of our team will be completing the full 100km, with the remaining members of staff joining at various other points along the routes and supporting where possible.
These considerations and challenges that we came across in our planning meetings aren't too dissimilar to those faced day in, day out, by the women we support. Whilst these barriers may prevent some of our team from completing parts of the walk, these barriers, such as health conditions, lack of childcare, and reliance on public transport to name just a few, prevent women all over the city from accessing much-needed support, just one of the many ways our walk highlights the struggles the women we support face.