Martin did it for love

Martin first signed up for Community Hospice’s Sahara Trek in memory of his wife, Fenella, who died in 2022. What began as a fundraising challenge became something much more personal, helping him find strength, connection and purpose after loss.

This October, he’ll take on his second Hospice challenge, the Great Wall of China Trek, continuing to raise funds for the hospice that supported his family when they needed it most.

The adventure started with Fenella

When Martin talks about adventure, he always comes back to Fenella. The couple were married for 30 years and shared a love of travel and trying new things.

Fenella loved finding new adventures for the family, so much so that her sons coined a phrase for it.

"The boys came up with the term volun-told. Fenella would find us something interesting, exciting to do and tell us that we were going to do it."

Over the years, that included everything from white-water rafting and flying microlights to swimming with dolphins and sharks.

"Putting a new pin on the map was always important and good for both of us."

Giving back after loss

After Fenella was diagnosed with stage four pancreatic cancer, Community Hospice became a vital source of support for the family.

"I would not have been able to have coped without their support."

Martin describes the care they received as "phenomenal".

"You just felt that people really cared. So that made those ten and a half weeks a lot easier. And there was less pain for Fenella."

Following Fenella’s death, Martin admits he struggled.

"I was in quite a dark place. You lose your way for a while."

As time passed, however, he felt a growing desire to give something back.

"A keenness to keep things going, supporting things that have supported you at a moment when you need it, and feeling that desire to enable that to continue and to support others."

When he spotted an email about the Sahara Trek, something immediately clicked.

"Something inside says, yeah, that's a good way to help the hospice."

Just as importantly, it felt like the sort of thing Fenella would have encouraged him to do.

"It felt like the sort of thing that Fenella would have said, yeah, go and do that thing."

More than just a fundraiser

Martin signed up, and his nephew Alex joined him. Together they trained, fundraised and prepared for the adventure ahead. What Martin didn’t expect was quite how much he would gain from the experience.

"The Sahara Trek was more than just a fundraiser."

The challenge became deeply personal, bringing together people with different stories but similar experiences.

"Doing the trek, I felt, was going to be a way of strengthening the parts that remain."

Strength, friendship and shared experiences

Along the way, Martin formed close friendships with other trekkers, many of whom had experienced loss themselves.

"Getting to know some different people in the same, similar boat."

The connections made during the trek have lasted long after their return home.

"We still have the WhatsApp group, and we still get together."

"We've grown a very close bond."

A journey that stays with you

The impact of the trek is something Martin carries with him every day. After returning home, some trekkers chose to mark the experience with tattoos. Martin had a tattoo inspired by the trek, featuring two figures walking towards the sunset.

"I got that done after Sahara, and there are two little people, which could be Alex and me, but it's just the trekkers. Disappear in the sunset."

For Martin, it serves as a permanent reminder of the memories and experiences formed in the desert.

The emotional side of the trek proved more challenging for Martin than the physical demands of walking through the Sahara.

"I would say the emotional side of it was by far the most challenging."

The long days walking together created space for honest conversations and shared understanding.

"I think we all found that walking along and chatting... it was definitely easier."

Some of Martin's most powerful memories came during the quiet moments beneath the Sahara sky.

"I did see a shooting star, which had a tail to it, that was broad, not just a little line."

The moment felt especially significant because of its connection to another tattoo he carries in memory of Fenella.

"There's a shooting star. And a falling star, which is Fenella."

Under a sky full of stars, surrounded by people who understood loss in their own way, those moments became an important part of Martin's journey.

But those difficult moments also brought rewards.

"It was a challenge, but it was also a reward."

Looking back, Martin feels the experience gave him far more than he expected.

"The trek gave back to me more than the sum of raising the money and that sort of thing."

When asked how he would sum up the experience, his answer comes without hesitation.

"For love."

Although Martin originally signed up in memory of Fenella, his understanding of what that meant evolved during the trek.

"I came away thinking, well, it was for many different aspects of love."

"For the love of the hospice and the care that the team gave to us."

"For the love of the people that I was working with that supported me and encouraged me."

And perhaps most importantly, for the people who had joined him on the journey.

What's next?

Martin's fundraising achievements have been just as remarkable as the treks themselves. Through the Sahara Trek, he raised more than £11,000 for Community Hospice, helping to fund the care and support that means so much to local families.

The support he received from friends, family, colleagues and the wider community became a reminder of just how many lives are touched when people come together for a cause they care about.

"The Sahara Trek was more than just a fundraiser. There was something more to it. I gained more from it than just a walk in the desert."

Today, Martin is preparing for his next challenge: the Great Wall of China Trek, and he is already off to a strong start, having raised more than £2,000 towards his latest fundraising target.

For anyone considering taking on a challenge event, Martin's story is a reminder that these experiences can offer much more than a finish line. They are an opportunity to try something new, meet incredible people, create lasting memories and support local families when they need it most.