For the last 20 years women from all over Barnsley have dressed up and walked between 5 and 10 miles at midnight in aid of Barnsley Hospice. This year was slightly different with an earlier start time of 8pm. 

That didn't make much difference to the JCI Barnsley girls though. With Ben asking us all to challenge ourselves this year, we all signed up for our yearly challenge in aid of the charity.

In our branded neon dress up we met at the Metrodome and quickly got into the spirit of the event, personalising walk numbers and taking loads of photos. Then of course there was the warm up and stretching. Now I have never stretched in time to music before but it was a very important part of the night, as we learnt later!


The warm up

With the start time looming we all headed out to the start line and set off! Following the crowds we walked and chatted and walked and chatted. For Kathryn and I that mainly consisted of boys, dating, JCI and back to boys! With all the training Tracy and Emma have been doing for the three peaks the walk was nothing to them and they soon sped off in front. Every now and then Kathryn and I could see Emma's orange hat bobbing up and down so we knew they weren't too far away.


Charlie, Emma, Tracy & Kathryn

Now for some reason the brilliant organisers of the walk thought it would be a great idea to put the very very steep hill as the last part of the walk. By the time I got to the top I was wishing I hadn't gone spinning on Friday night and Kathryn was wishing she hadn't mocked the stretching!

Back at the metrodome we were met with a small cocktail and a bacon sandwich! Just what we needed while we chilled out and waited for the fireworks!

As a celebration for the 20th year the night closed with a fantastic firework display.

Every year the women of Barnsley support this amazing charity and every year the JCI Barnsley girls support them too. It's always a great night and raises loads of money, so here's to next year!

Challenge done!

Charlie Pearson
Immediate Past President