Breast cancer survivor treks 24 peaks in 48 hours to ‘cherish feeling alive’

Jackie Scully, 42, from Greenwich, south London, has set herself the task of covering 100km throughout the course of the year with a series of testing ventures to mark 10 years since she was given the all-clear from cancer.

Mrs Scully broke a Guinness World Record at the London Marathon in April for the fastest marathon time in a 10-person costume, while in July, she and 120 people ran 10km from different locations around the country.

Over the weekend, Mrs Scully, accompanied by her husband Duncan Sloan, 42, trekked across 24 peaks in the Lake District in 48 hours to clock up her mileage, saying it was a challenge to “push (her) body to the limit”.

“It’s about cherishing the moments that you’re given to feel alive and being in nature, being outside, being on top of the world – or even if it’s only on top of the peaks in the Lakes – it’s that feeling of being alive,” Mrs Scully, who runs a content marketing agency, told the PA news agency.

“I think when you’re doing it because you’ve had your life threatened, it’s quite a nice thing.”

Mrs Scully said the challenge, which tackled 11 peaks on Saturday and 13 on Sunday, involved climbing 9,993ft in 22 hours.

“It was, without doubt, one of the toughest challenges I have ever taken on,” she said.

“According to the organisers, the Three Peaks is a six out of 10, this is like a nine out of 10.

“There was a moment three hours in when I was trying to climb a glossy, slippery rock and I just kept falling down as I couldn’t get any grip.

“My boots were waterlogged and rain was dripping off my nose and down my back, I was facing another 19 hours of trekking and in that moment I wondered whether I had actually found my limit.

“But when you get onto these challenges, it’s just one foot in front of the other – you’ve just got to think about the next foot, and the next foot.

“I always think you never know what’s possible until you shoot for the impossible.”

Some of the peaks on the trek included Bowfell, Crinkle Crags and Fairfield, with Mrs Scully saying her feet were “on fire” and her body “aches in ways (she) didn’t think possible”.

“The aim of this was to find something that pushes my body to the limit,” she said.

“Every year, or every few years, since my diagnosis, I’ve been looking to test my physical edges and this, of the challenges, is the one that took me to the next level.

“I thought I could never run a marathon, when I was on chemo I never thought I could do a 10km.

“Every time I’ve been able to do it, I’ve thought if I can do that, what can I do next?”

She was also accompanied on the trek by a small group who also sought to tackle the feat, with Mrs Scully saying everyone was “driven by a cause close to their hearts”.

“Their stories, their strength, their jokes kept us all going when the going got very, very tough,” she said.

As well as covering 100km, Mrs Scully is aiming to raise £100,000 throughout the year for Breast Cancer Now, NHS Charities Together and the Willow Foundation, organisations which supported her throughout her treatment and recovery.

“This year is supposed to be about closure from cancer, it was supposed to be about saying to myself, ‘in 10 years, look what I’ve been able to achieve for myself and other people’,” she said.

“I’m just so very grateful to everybody who believes in all the challenges, who have been participating in all the challenges.

“It’s just so amazing when people get behind you and to be somebody that people get behind, I find that really humbling.”

Mrs Scully is looking to undertake her final challenge of the year in November by trekking across the Sahara Desert in Africa.

To find out more, visit Mrs Scully’s fundraising page here: justgiving.com/team/100kourway