Guest Blog - Julie's DofE Challenge Journey

As we prepare for our Challenge (we have new dates, but more on that later) we thought you may be interested in getting a flavour of other Challenges taking place across Scotland.

In addition to being a disabilities campaigner, Julie McElroy is also a member of our Scottish Advisory Committee. She's a Gold Award holder herself and a keen supporter of DofE Scotland.

Here's her DofE Diamond Challenge Journey

It is a pleasure to share my DofE Diamond Challenge Journey with you all and hope that you will be inspired to do your own Challenge before December 2016.

As a recipient of the Gold Duke of Edinburgh’s Award, I know how much the DofE taught me about myself. It is the catalyst for the young people.

Over the coming months, I am going to embark on three DofE Diamond Challenges. Why have I chosen three Challenges? Because behind each Challenge has a story to tell and they will all interlink into my DofE journey that I have managed to carve out. It is going to be tough – even one person who is involved in my other two challenges cited, “a lot of factors for you to consider before you take on this challenge Julie”.

I am also planning to record video diaries of this journey so you see some of the people I meet along the way and many whom are strong advocates of the DofE in Scotland. 

My first DofE Diamond Challenge is embarking on Tall Ship Sailing voyage in June with Jubilee Sailing Trust. It is literally only six weeks to go and have just passed my medical assessment for this once in a lifetime experience to start my DofE Diamond Challenges.

Life on the high seas is something few landlubbers will ever experience and I am so looking forward to going on a Tall Ship Sailing voyage. The adrenaline rush is going through me but I am slightly nervous my disability will be more noticeable. In recent years, my balance associated my Cerebral Palsy has become unsteady with hyperextension in my legs proving difficult to release the muscles tone. The main challenge will be grabbing onto things and make sure I don’t fall overboard! 

The overall experience is going to be exhilarating, challenging and rewarding working as a voyage crew to man a Tall Ship for five days around Scotland. It will have it challenges in terms of the Scottish weather at this time of year also! 

I will be keeping a Tall Ship log and share the peril of sea life with you all when I arrive back on dry land so you will have an opportunity to read it. In the meantime, I will update you days before I embark on this Tall Ship voyage in June.

I hope my DofE Challenges inspire you to donate generously to ensure today’s disadvantaged young people are given the chance to go forward, start their DofE and propel them on a pathway to achieving their aspirations and their DofE Award.

Thanks to Julie for sharing her story and we look forward to her next update. You can donate to Julie's Challenge here. Start your own Challenge today by visiting the DofE Diamond Challenge website.

Celebrating together – Vango supports our Challenge

Vango’s long been a supporter of the DofE and a whole lot of their products feature in the Expedition Kit List. They’ve now come on board to support our DofE Diamond Challenge!

An enormous thank you from our team goes out to Vango for their donation of dry paks, trek mats, gel burners with fuel and Vango buffs! We’re looking forward to using it all in May – only a couple months to go!

Like us, Vango is celebrating a big event this year.  This year is their 50^th anniversary. Vango was established in the West of Scotland in 1966 and remain based at the gateway to the spectacular Scottish Highlands. It’s really encouraging to us here at DofE Scotland to get support from an organisation also based in Scotland and also in a celebration year. Thanks so much Vango! 

Jamie's Moray Recce

Last week I got to go up to Moray for the first time to scope out the last day of the Challenge. We’re ending in Spey Bay – a beautiful place where the river meets with the North Sea.

It was the first time I had been to Moray and it was a real treat to be shown the area by Gavin and Karen. They both work for Moray Council and DofE is part of what they do.

I didn’t know exactly what to expect as I stepped off the train at Elgin, but I was greeted with amazing excitement, warmth and generosity. There's so much already in the planning for how the area can mark DofE's Anniversary and Gavin and Karen were both very keen on helping us to mark the end of our Challenge.

They whisked me off on a tour of the area: to Craigellachie, where we’ll be camping our final night; to Spey Bay itself to see what celebrations will look like at the finish; and to Fochabers where they’re planning something special to mark the Diamond Anniversary year.

It was a very full afternoon, but being great hosts they took me to the famous Baxters for a generous serving of pancakes topped with cinnamon apples, ice cream and toffee sauce – yum! I’m told that many local participants finish off their expeditions and you can see why. Just the sort of food you need after a big hike!

After my trip I was left feeling full – and not just of pancakes! – but also full of ideas about how we can complete our Challenge with a bang! We’ll be keeping you posted as we find out more. Maybe you can get involved too!

The key to making yourself love cycling – it’s all in the colours

Our Office Manager's Sarah's been busy with her DofE Challenge training. Here's her take on how it's going so far... 

The DofE Scotland Diamond Challenge has been at the back of my mind for some time now, but it was during the festive lull that I suddenly realised how quickly the event is approaching. Only 20 weeks left to prepare for an almighty sporting challenge involving an activity I really hate - cycling.

Panicked into action, I immediately bought a bike.  After a bit of research I decided a mountain bike was the way forward with its heavier tyres and frame, which are sure to help bolster my leg strength for when the big day arrives. More importantly, they also look much prettier. Sold!

Step two was to set up a training calendar.  I found some great examples of beginner training plans on British Cycling’s website, which I adjusted to fit around my own commitments.  Using a Google Calendar, I set up the plan which I regularly thrust in front of anyone and everyone who’ll look at it. It sends reminders to my phone and incorporates colour coded event tags to keep me right - genius!

After spending far too long admiring my masterpiece, I finally kicked my training into gear. Exercising five days a week looks pretty tough going, and much more than I’ve ever done in my life, but with recovery weeks planned in and sheer determination I know I can do it.

Then it dawned on me, there really is no point setting up a plan if I can’t monitor my progress and regularly declare how much of a machine I am. So I downloaded the Social Fitness app, Strava.  This is a great app that allows me to record any training I do, whether it’s cycling, walking or running, so I can log my improvements and set goals.  It also lets me connect with friends to borrow route ideas or get support and that all important ‘kudos’ for my training achievements.  I’ve clocked in two rides so far and a couple of runs but there are plenty more to come. Whether I like it or not!

It’s been a great start for me so far. There’s so many resources out there that have made it easy to get going. I’d guess that whatever you’re DofE Challenge is, there’s an app for it. I’d encourage everyone to take the plunge, do a bit of research and get going. You can sign up to your Challenge at www.DofEDiamondChallenge.org. If you’d like to support my Challenge, have a look at my JustGiving page: https://www.justgiving.com/DofESarahsChallenge2016/.

Scottish Challengers - are you one of them?

We're getting our first reports of other groups and individuals around Scotland signing up to do their DofE Diamond Challenge.

We got wind via Twitter that all of Lathallan's Senior School are going to be climbing Ben Nevis in June for their DofE Challenge.

It's an incredible feat for everyone to commit to and we're going to be cheering them on and hopefully hearing about their progress along the way.

If you have signed up to do your DofE Challenge we want to hear from you! What inspired you? What is your Challenge?

Send it on to Scotland@DofE.org, or drop us a note on Facebook or Twitter #DofEChallenge.

The Challenge Reality

It's been over a week now since we launched our DofE Challenge. On the whole, everyone is still feeling ambitious, but some of us are beginning to question if maybe it'll be more like this:

We're working towards it though. In a couple of weeks we're hoping to have our first canoe training - getting in the boats for our staff away days. 

Have any of you signed up for your Challenge yet? If yes, we want to hear about it!! Get in touch via the comments below or #DofEChallenge on Twitter.  Don't forget that you can sign up for your Challenge from now all the way through next year at www.DofEDiamondChallenge.org. 

The route on film

When we all first heard what Barry and Alex were planning there were some jaws that hit the floor. We thought you might like to hear the ambitious plan from the horses' mouths (so to speak).


If you have any questions about our Challenge get in touch here on the blog, or you can find us on Twitter @DofEScotland #DofEChallenge, Facebook and you can even email us at Scotland@DofE.org

Don't forget that you can support us by donating to our Challenge - all donations go to supporting disadvantaged young people here in Scotland.