We would like to share an enormous congratulations and thank you to Rebecca McWass, who last month completed the 5-day Nepal Capital to Country Ultra Marathon, raising an incredible £1,075 in aid of Devon Mind and Central Plymouth 5K Your Way, Move Against Cancer.

We are incredibly proud and grateful to Becky for flying the flag for better mental health across Devon throughout the epic 123-mile challenge in the Himalayan mountains from Kathmandu to Lama. The funds raised will be used to help us support more people to get active for their mental wellbeing, and we will be launching an exciting new group in the new year.

• 5 days • 123 miles • 25,000ft

Becky’s Story:

“I'll be honest, I underestimated my training. When they said we were running through the hills of Nepal, they actually meant mountains. Every day of the challenge, we climbed the equivalent in feet of Ben Nevis and Snowdon put together. Our final day consisted of 16 miles of up and then Nepali flat, which also means very hilly. So Plymouth and the South West Coastal Path, which I consider to be very hilly, is in fact completely flat compared to Nepal. The actual experience was one of the most amazing things I'll ever do, and also one of the most painful experiences I've ever had. Due to the heat, unseasonably hot at 34 degrees, my feet did not cope with the rocks and sand underfoot. And I returned to England with quite a lot of skin missing, including one degloved toe. Pleasant, I know... However, seeing the pot of money growing every night spurred me on to put the trainers back on and plod on. I'll be honest, I entered the camp on day 4 and said I was done. One of the group had dropped out the day before, and I felt like I didn't have anything left in me. I went to bed having raised £450, and by 5am the next day, it had hit £900 and so I got those trainers back on. The money really helped motivate me to keep moving, so thank you so much to all the sponsors.

Again, I didn't really factor in the camping side of the adventure. There was a toilet tent, but the toilet consisted of a hole dug for everyone to use (all 20 odd of us). You can just imagine how pleasant that was in the morning. Although it was super hot during the day, it was freezing at night. Camping in the middle of a glacial river bed and having a herd of cows walk through and the village dog sit waiting for us to feed him, whilst a group of children played with the toys we bought, was a highlight. Another highlight was the joy on one of the villagers’ faces as he proudly walked around our camp showing us a photo of himself that our photographer printed off from last year’s event. The smallest thing but the biggest for him. Nepal was beautiful, not just the scenery and being able to see the Himalayas in the distance every day, but the people who smiled at me, and the children who giggled and shouted hello as we passed. I had one school child keep up with me for 4 miles, which was their walk home, and I had two dogs join and run happily alongside me for 5 miles. The Nepalese are the most welcoming people and are very proud to show you their country.

The final night we celebrated in the Lama village with a party, so after completing 123 miles, we ended up dancing the macarina in a garden full of oranges with our Nepali crew and their children who had filled their mouths with the popping candy a friend gave me to take and were walking around with their mouths open and pointing at them to let you hear the popping whilst screaming with laughter. A memory I'll never forget and one that shows you really don't need much in life to smile and laugh...”

If you’ve been inspired by Becky’s story and would like to take on your own unique challenge in support of your local community, we would love to welcome you to join #TeamDevonMind and help support you along the way. Visit our Devon Mind fundraising platform to get started and create your very own page. You can contact the team to share and discuss your exciting plans in aid of better mental health: fundraise@devonmind.com. We really couldn’t continue to support as many people with their mental health without the generous support of our incredible fundraisers.