After the extremely wet Bridge to Brisbane that we did a few weeks ago, seeing the weather forecast of rain on Saturday 6 October 2018 which was also the date of the MS Moonlight Walk did make me think oh no, particularly as I had felt ambitious when I signed me, Naomi and the Aussie up for the walk and had signed us up for the 10km walk rather than our usual 5km.
The walk didn’t start until 6pm so during the day we watched the clouds roll in as well as a touch of rain before heading to the Cultural Centre to meet Naomi.
Upon arrival we picked up our red lanterns and waited for the walk to start whilst feeling the rain get heavier and heavier. Luckily I had bought some rather fetching rain ponchos so we were able to avoid getting quite as drenched as for Bridge to Brisbane.
The event got off to a lovely start with presentations to the top fundraisers as well as listening to people who have MS talk about how they are fighting to beat MS.
With the sun going down we started on our walk along Southbank and the long and windy, sometimes up and sometimes down hill path to the Story Bridge, which if it is possible to have a favourite bridge would 100% be my favourite!
We walked along pathways and roads which we have never been to or along before which was lovely and to be honest the rain didn’t really dampen the experience for me. It was also lovely to see the volunteers along the route, pointing us in the right direction and from time to time handing out things to keep you going like water, bananas, cookies and yoghurt.
As we came back through the botanic gardens at the 9km mark we were dazzled by the beautiful lights which are in the trees all year round. It was “just” a short trek back to the finish line.
I have never walked as much as 10km in one go before. I remember back when I started exercising how walking 3km used to hurt my hips and I would be in pain for a while afterwards. The most I had walked in one go had previously been 5km but recently I have been walking 7 then 8km on the treadmill at the gym and felt comfortable doing so.
The thought of completing 10km still made me nervous though and I won’t lie that I thought, well if it gets tough we can probably just do 5km. Luckily that wasn’t necessary and we did it and it was a really great experience, especially as I was able to raise some money for the MS Society as well and completed it with the Aussie and Naomi.
We have signed up for a 10km walk on the Gold Coast next year already and have a longer walk in mind when the tickets go on sale on New Years Day around Byron Bay as well which makes me quite excited for the fitness goals next year.