Coat on Coat off Muddy Boots
Vicky Harrison
Where the Mud teaches you who you are.
Somewhere between mile 40 and 150 the mud feels like its trying to pull you under and the finish line feels like a rumour. I’ve been there caught between exhaustion and the urge to turn back.
But that’s where the magic begins. When every step feels impossible, you discover the reserves you didn’t know you had. One more step is always there if you look for it.
Between the challenges of the Sussex Hospices Trail, I was also training for – and completing – Ultra Marathons to raise money for charity. Those miles weren’t separate journeys; they were all part of the same commitment to push through for a cause that matters.
My 200-mile trek wasn’t just an endurance test – it was a lesson in gratitude. Even in the snow, rain and the kind of cold that bites, I’m reminded how lucky I am to move through this landscape at all. Every stop forward is a celebration of life.
Come with me through the wind, the rain, and the mud. The toughest paths lead to the most beautiful views-and reveal the strongest parts of who we are.
Coat on Coat off Muddy Boots by Vicky Harrison is available in paperback format from multiple retail outlets in Midhurst and the surrounding villages priced £20.
£1 from the sale of each physical book will be donated to both the Friends of Sussex Hospices and to Midhurst Palliative Care.