News
18 January 2016JO BRAND SIGNS UP FOR ONE HELL OF A WALK!
The mammoth attempt will see the 58-year-old comedienne ‘doing herself proud’ this Sport Relief by attempting to walk 150 miles from Hull to Liverpool in just seven days.
The challenge, which is sponsored by BT, a long-term supporter of Comic Relief challenges, will see Jo walking from dawn until dark and climbing up to 1,530ft as she crosses the Pennines.
She will start her challenge in Hull on Friday 22nd January and plans to finish in Liverpool on Thursday 28th January. Her gruelling schedule means she is likely to face swollen feet, blisters and missing toenails along the way as she tackles the 60,000 steps and burns around 6,000 calories each day.
Having started her career as a psychiatric nurse, Jo has spent many years since her rise to fame raising awareness about mental health issues. So it is fitting that during her journey she will highlight the work Sport Relief does around mental health and issues that impact women and girls across the UK and the world’s poorest communities. Along the way she will be joined by famous friends and people helped by Sport Relief funded projects.
Jo said: “When I first started training for this challenge, I didn’t realise I was not the national fitness icon I’d always believed myself to be. My body is a temple …it’s big and it doesn’t move! The realisation is gradually dawning that I have to walk a very, very, very long way, with many days back-to- back using only my poor little legs to carry me – and that’s a gruesome thought. But the hope is that the walk will raise much needed funds for people who really deserve it, which will keep me going.”
The money raised from Jo’s challenge will be spent to help transform the lives of some of the most disadvantaged people in the UK and across the world’s poorest communities. All the ups and downs of Jo’s challenge will be captured for a BBC documentary, to be broadcast in the run up to Sport Relief Weekend, which takes place from Friday 18th to Sunday 20th March.
As well as sponsoring Jo’s Hell of a Walk, between 18th January and 20th March 2016, for every call made from a BT fixed line in the UK to the BT Speaking Clock, BT will donate 10p to Sport Relief. On 26th January BT will also hold Chat for Change Day, where 1p from every call made from a BT fixed line in the UK will be donated to Sport Relief.
To find out more about Jo's Hell of a Walk and sponsor her, check out her challenge page .
Source: http://www.sportrelief.com/whats-going-on/jo-brand-signs-one-hell-walk