The only way is up as Boston's Amanda joins TOWIE star for epic charity trek

If you have started 2018 with a view to challenging yourself in the coming year, perhaps find inspiration in Boston's Amanda Smith who literally went through Hell in late 2017 in support of charity.
Amanda, in the white top and black shorts, with fellow fundraisers during the trek. Picture: CoppaFeel!Amanda, in the white top and black shorts, with fellow fundraisers during the trek. Picture: CoppaFeel!
Amanda, in the white top and black shorts, with fellow fundraisers during the trek. Picture: CoppaFeel!

Hell, in this case, was the name of an abandoned village that Amanda passed through as part of an epic charity expedition in Oman.

The fundraiser saw two teams (each led by a celebrity) trek from the coast of the Middle Eastern country into the mountains and the summit of the 1,794m-high Jebel Qihwi.

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The party of 60 would endure daily temperatures of 35oC (and up to 38oC on one day) as they covered the distance across four full days of trekking.

The beach at Zighy Bay, the camp site for the first night of the trek.The beach at Zighy Bay, the camp site for the first night of the trek.
The beach at Zighy Bay, the camp site for the first night of the trek.

These days would vary from six to 13 hours long. It was the 13-hour long day which included the visit to Hell, leading Amanda to dub it a ‘hell-ish day’.

The cause behind it all was the breast cancer awareness charity CoppaFeel!.

Leading one of the teams was best-selling author and vlogger Giovanna Fletcher, while the other – Amanda’s – was headed up by Giovanna’s brother Mario Falcone, from TV’s The Only Way Is Essex. Mario was a late replacement to Olympian Greg Rutherford, who could not take part due to injury.

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Amanda surpassed her fundraising target of £3,000 to finish at £3,255 and in total the party raised £224,308 for CoppaFeel!.

Amanda with TOWIE's Mario Falcone.Amanda with TOWIE's Mario Falcone.
Amanda with TOWIE's Mario Falcone.

Mother-of-three Amanda described it as ‘the most amazing experience’, saying: “I feel proud to be part of a team that has done so very well.”

The fundraiser was intended as a finale to 10 years of charity efforts on Amanda’s part, which began after losing a friend to cancer, but she is now considering more.

She said: “I entered this because I wanted a humdinger to really challenge me to finish off 10 years of fundraising, but I don’t think it has finished me off. I feel inspired to do more.”

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A spokesman for the CoppaFeel! charity said: “Amanda was an incredible member of the most memorable adventure CoppaFeel! have ever taken on. Together as a group they have raised a phenomenal £225,000 which will make such a difference to the work of CoppaFeel!.”

On route to the summit.On route to the summit.
On route to the summit.

They added: “On behalf of CoppaFeel! I would like to extend a huge thank you not only to Amanda for smashing her target and raising over £3,250 but also to each and every member of the local community in Boston who supported her fundraising efforts and helped us on our mission to stamp out the late detection of breast cancer.”

For more on the work of the Coppafeel! charity, visit its website at www.coppafeel.org