'My heart felt so full': Leeds graduate's gruelling 100km charity trek for breast cancer awareness

Hannah Catterall, 23, took part in a five-day trek in the Isle of Skye in June to raise money for CoppaFeel!, a UK charity with a mission to ensure breast cancer in young people is detected early and accurately.

Hannah, who is originally from Seattle but moved to Yorkshire in 2014, was inspired to take on the trek after seeing her grandmother, great grandmother, and great aunt, all experience breast cancer. Her grandmother passed away from the disease in 2022, and participating in a CoppaFeel! trek was a chance for Hannah to navigate her grief alongside others who had a connection to breast cancer.

Hannah said: “(The trek) was physically painful but emotionally my heart just felt so full from hearing everyone’s stories and connecting on something that I think only people in the group could understand.

“We just had this immediate emotional connection.”

The challenge featured a total of 122 participants who all hiked for nine to ten hours each day to complete the 100km route.

Hannah herself was part of a team of more than 30 walkers and together they faced tough conditions including injuries, rocky terrain and even a storm.

Hannah said: “It was really, really tough. We had one really bad weather day where it was like we were walking through bogs for four hours and the rain was relentless.

“I definitely found the fourth day the hardest as my feet got really swollen and painful.

“Every time I stepped, it was like a knife in my foot.”

Yet, supported on the trek by CoppaFeel! ambassadors including author, actress and podcast host Giovanna Fletcher, and model and influencer Kelly Crump, after five days, the team completed the 100km challenge. As they crossed the finish line, they sang ‘(I’ve Had) The Time of My Life’ to mark their fantastic achievement.

Hannah said: “I think that all of us just felt that wave of emotion.

“I’d been holding it back a little and not expecting it to come but I just burst into tears.”

Hannah raised a total of £2,850 for CoppaFeel! by completing the trek and taking on innovative fundraising ideas from a Barbie film night to selling old clothes online.

The enjoyment from the entire experience has made her realise that she wants to work within the fundraising industry and as her next step to realise this goal, Hannah will take part in CoppaFeel!’s Lake District trek in September. However, this time she will not be a participant but instead a volunteer.

Hannah said: “I’m interested in seeing it from a different perspective - I’m definitely looking forward to learning more about how they deliver the events and the planning process and the logistical stuff.

“I’m also really looking forward to just the energy as well of everyone there. Some of my team will be there but there will also be people I’ve never met before. I just think it will be this massive community with everyone excited to be there.”

For Hannah, walking amidst the “beautiful setting” of the Isle of Skye was a chance to “disconnect digitally and reconnect with people.”

She said: “I feel like in such a digital world, we forget to put our phones down and look at the world around us.

“That whole week, we were all just so present. We were with each other and it was so nice.”

Her best advice for anyone taking on a CoppaFeel! trek in the future is to embrace the community which naturally forms.

Hannah said: “Speak to people, learn about their stories (because) that’s how the time passes when your muscles are aching and you’re dehydrated and under caffeinated and tired.

“Soak up the magic.”

CoppaFeel! treks take place nationally and internationally throughout the year.

To find out more and donate to CoppaFeel!, visit their website.