Retired Kirkcaldy police sergeant to trek Sahara Desert for cancer support charity

Don Sutherland will set off on his fourth and final fundraising trek for Maggie’s Fife. Having previously cycled the length of the United Kingdom, trekked the Arctic Circle and climbed Mount Kilimanjaro, Don will now take on the challenge of crossing the Sahara desert.

The 63-year old served the community for 28 years as a police officer before retiring. Personal tragedy led him to engage with Maggie’s nearly a decade ago and encouraged him to raise money for the vital cancer support centre at Kirkcaldy’s Victoria Hospital. He was first introduced to the cancer support charity following the passing of his sister, Fiona, from pancreatic cancer in 2011 and then just 10 months later his wife, Valerie, from cervical cancer.

Like many, Don found Maggie’s during a low point. He happened upon the centre during a visit to the Vic..

He explained: “I went through a few years of not being the happiest man in the world and I don't like bothering family and friends with things, so I tended to keep it to myself. After I got my knee replaced in 2014 I saw a small plaque in Victoria Hospital centre saying ‘Maggie’s Centre this way’. I wandered in and I didn’t really know what to expect”.

Don began visiting the centre where he chatted to staff and built up trust, something that allowed him to open up.

He explained: “They’re basically really nice and friendly to you and they sort of work a story out of you, They don’t exactly push anything out of you. Over a period of time I trusted them well enough. I remember Lorna, who isn’t there anymore, she asked a couple of questions and I realised she was asking if I felt suicidal. The phrase I came up with at the time was ‘I hear what you’re saying but all I can say is, all of me wants Valerie back but none of me wants to be with her’. Having verbalised that it made sense to me and I started to feel stronger”.

Don said that the response was something that came to him thanks to the patience and time given to him by staff. They also reassured him that the service was just as much for the friends and family of those going through cancer as it is for those diagnosed with it.

He said: “I felt like a fraud going into the place, but they said I wasn’t – they wanted me here. This is the kind of thing they do for people. Because they encouraged me to go in and because they're really good with me, they really helped me to sort myself out a little bit better. I felt after all that, I want to do something for them”.

Don has given back by raising thousands for the charity with three expeditions. His goal for each as been to fund a day of operation at the base. You can find Don’s JustGiving page here: https://justgiving.com/page/don-sutherland-saharatrek

He explained: “They told me at the time it costs about £2400 a day to keep a Maggie’s Centre open. I thought the best thing I could do was to raise enough to keep Maggie’s open for a day. That was my only target. It just kind of snowballed from there”.

For cycling from John O’Groats to Lands End, Don raised £5500. His Arctic expedition raised over £10,000 for the charity and his most recent fundraiser, climbing Mount Kilimanjiro, raised a further £6000.

He hopes to add to that with his Sahara trek, an adventure which will provide a whole new set of challenges – and he admits, it’s often hard to train for these expeditions especially when dealing with unfamiliarity, but said his mentality is what provides a strong basis for getting through the events.

He said: “Part of the reason why it was so strenuous is because I didn't like cycling. Friends took me on training runs. Most of them said ‘you’ll never make it because you’ve just not got the legs’.

“I’ve always kept fit, I am a fit individual but I wasn’t prepared for just how hard the cycling would be. My best mate, he summed it up, he said ‘no, Don’s twisted, he’ll get through it, he’ll find a way’ - and that’s basically what I did. I found a way.

“It was the same with the Arctic, there’s no real preparation you can do for extreme cold. It's just endurance”.

On his Kilimanjaro climb, he said luck played a part in his successful ascent. He was the only one of his party not to suffer from altitude sickness.

Don will begin his Sahara journey on November 5, trekking for five days and covering 100km of the Moroccan area of the desert. He said he knows that mental strength will once again have a part to play in the journey.

“I don’t know how I’m going to get on in the Sahara. All I know is that I’m physically fit enough. It’s the endurance element, it’s actually getting the mentality to get yourself through it somehow. I need to make sure that I protect myself with the right clothing and the right oils and do what I’m told. That’s pretty much all you can do. It’s all about endurance and mental strength.”