100km in 3 Days for Stronger Together Through Cancer
Why 100 Kilometres And Why This Cause Matters So Much To Us
Many of you who know me and my husband know that we’ve taken on quite a few challenges over the years. So when we share that we are walking 100 kilometres in three days, you might assume this is our toughest one yet.
Interestingly, it isn’t.
Physically, we have done harder things before. But this challenge asks something very different of us.
The real challenge is not pushing ourselves to the absolute limit like we usually would.
It is holding back.
Both of us are high achievers, ambitious, driven, and naturally wired to go further, faster, harder. In the past, our challenges have often been about testing physical endurance. This time, the challenge is to slow down.
To stay present.
To resist the urge to push for more.
To simply experience the journey.
We are genuinely excited about this because it is something completely new for us, the opportunity to explore the beauty around us, embrace whatever the British weather decides to bring, and allow ourselves to just be in the moment.
And in many ways, this challenge perfectly reflects the work I do as a coach and what I stand for.
As someone who has experienced burnout (not just once, but through repeated cycles), I understand deeply how powerful the drive to do more can be. The constant striving. The pressure we place on ourselves. The belief that our worth is somehow tied to how productive we are.
My most extreme burnout ultimately led me to step away from my career, but it also changed the direction of my life and the work I now feel so privileged to do.
Because underneath that relentless drive is often a pattern, a set of behaviours that keep us busy, pushing, achieving… but rarely pausing.
So this challenge is not only personal.
It represents everything I support my clients with:
Understanding the behaviours that keep us overextending
Recognising where the constant need for “more” truly comes from
Detaching our self-worth from productivity
Learning that slowing down is not weakness, it is wisdom
This walk is a lived example of those beliefs.
A commitment to choosing presence over pressure.
Sustainable performance over constant pushing.
Ambition without self-abandonment.
And whenever I take on something meaningful, I always ask myself one question:
How can this also give back?
Why Stronger Together Through Cancer?
I recently had the privilege of meeting Fiona and Adele, founders of Stronger Together Through Cancer, a charity supporting business owners across Kent, who are navigating both life and business following a cancer diagnosis.
While organisations such as Cancer Research and Macmillan provide extraordinary medical support, and treatments have advanced significantly over the years, there is one reality that is rarely spoken about:
The impact cancer has on business owners.
Running a business can already feel lonely. As rewarding and fulfilling as it is, many of us carry enormous responsibility behind the scenes.
Now imagine adding a cancer diagnosis into that reality.
Many of the business owners this charity supports are not leading large corporations with layers of leadership ready to step in. They are small business owners, often solopreneurs or leaders of very small teams, meaning that stepping away from the business to focus on treatment can have serious consequences.
Research shows that 55% of businesses close following the owner’s cancer diagnosis.
Behind every one of those businesses is a real person.
Someone likely juggling family life, school runs, piles of washing, sports clubs, clients, teams, and the quiet mental load that comes with holding everything together.
So the impact reaches far beyond the business itself.
It affects families.
Livelihoods.
Communities.
The very people those businesses were created to serve.
Most of us start businesses from a place of passion, a desire to make a difference and support others through the products or services we offer.
When those businesses disappear, the ripple effect is significant.
These business owners are often the very people who have held everything together for years.
Suddenly facing the possibility of doing less.
Feeling incapable.
Sometimes afraid to ask for help, because many of us have grown up believing that needing support somehow means failure.
It does not.
And this is why supporting Fiona, Adele, their incredible network, and their “angels” matters so deeply to me.
With love and gratitude,
Katie
As we take each step across those 100 kilometres, our hope is simple: that no business owner facing cancer feels they have to hold everything together alone.
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