Five deserts, five treks and £4k for charity as Fenland author completes charity marathon

A Fenland author has completed an ambitious fundraising effort in memory of his dad which saw him trek five deserts over five continents.

Jon Lawrence, from Walpole Cross Keys, has raised more than four times his original target for The Big C – a charity which offers support to children with cancer.

He has just returned from his final trek, which saw him spend four days walking in the Mojave Desert in America.

And he is on target to raise at least £4,000 by his efforts.

Jon started his treks last summer with the Atacama Desert in Chile – the world’s highest and driest desert.

He then took on the Sahara in Morocco, followed by the Rangipo, New Zealand, and then the Wadi Rum, Jordan.

Each trek saw him complete 100kms and gave him time to grieve for his dad Graham who died in 2016.

Jon said: “Each desert has been a different experience, and I have enjoyed them all. But the Mojave was the hardest and my least favourite.

“To be honest I didn’t enjoy it, and actually finished the trek in four days instead of five because I just felt uncomfortable.

“The treks gave me time to think about my dad and to grieve.

“I think by the time I got to the US I had finished grieving and so I was just marching through the desert.

“I now intend to write a book about my experiences, but it has given me the bug and I may well do something again in the future.”

To sponsor Jon go to: www.justgiving.com/fundraising/iwouldwalk500k