The Google Search That Changed My Life
In January 2019, I did something incredibly ordinary.
I opened Google and typed three simple words:
"Hiking challenges UK."
I wasn't looking to climb mountains.
I wasn't planning to write a book.
I certainly wasn't imagining that, four years later, I'd be standing at Everest Base Camp, running my own hiking website, organising walking events, or calling many of the people I'd meet along the way some of my closest friends.
I was simply looking for a challenge.
That's when I discovered Action Challenge and their Ultra Challenge Series.
Looking back now, it's amazing how one small decision can completely change the course of your life.
Taking that first step
At the time, I wasn't an experienced long-distance hiker.
I enjoyed walking, but the thought of covering 25km, 50km or even 100km in a single day felt completely out of reach.
Like so many people, I wondered whether I was fit enough.
Whether I'd hold everyone up.
Whether I'd even finish.
Eventually, I signed up anyway.
That first Ultra Challenge taught me something I'll never forget.
The biggest obstacle was never the distance.
It was convincing myself that I belonged there.
What I quickly discovered was that everyone else had started exactly where I was.
Nobody was judging.
Nobody cared how fast you walked.
People encouraged each other, celebrated together, and somehow complete strangers became teammates by the end of the day.
More than just walking
Over the following months, I found myself signing up for more and more Ultra Challenge events.
Each one pushed me a little further than the last.
Each one gave me a little more confidence.
But the biggest surprise wasn't the miles.
It was the people.
Long-distance walking has a funny way of bringing people together.
You spend hours sharing stories, encouraging one another through tired legs and aching feet, laughing about the weather, the blisters and the ridiculous decision you've all made to voluntarily walk for an entire day.
Some of those people have become lifelong friends.
We've completed challenges all over the UK together.
We've travelled abroad together.
We've celebrated finish lines together.
And none of us would have met if we hadn't all decided to sign up for a walk.
That's something pretty special.
The evening that changed everything
Then one day I noticed something on the Action Challenge website.
An information evening about trekking to Everest Base Camp.
I nearly ignored it.
Everest Base Camp?
That wasn't for people like me.
That was for seasoned adventurers.
But curiosity got the better of me, and I went along.
The presentation was inspiring.
The expedition leaders were honest, knowledgeable and reassuring.
They didn't pretend it would be easy.
They simply explained what the challenge involved, how the expedition worked and why ordinary people really could achieve something extraordinary with the right preparation.
I left that evening thinking something I'd never thought before.
"Maybe I could actually do this."
Not long afterwards, I booked my place.
Nepal had other ideas
Nothing prepares you for the Himalayas.
The scale.
The beauty.
The altitude.
The silence.
Or the unpredictability.
Our adventure began with flight cancellations and helicopters instead of the famous flight into Lukla.
The mountains reminded us very quickly that they were in charge.
Yet throughout the entire expedition, I was continually impressed by how professionally everything was handled.
Months before we even flew to Nepal, Action Challenge had already provided training advice, kit guidance and plenty of reassurance.
Once we arrived, every unexpected twist was dealt with calmly and professionally.
Behind the scenes, the expedition leaders, local guides, Sherpas and porters worked tirelessly to keep us safe while making sure we experienced every incredible moment the trek had to offer.
Looking back, I realise how much work goes into organising an expedition like that.
As participants, we simply get to enjoy the adventure.
The people making it happen deserve enormous credit.
It was never really about Everest
Standing beside the famous Everest Base Camp rock was one of the proudest moments of my life.
But strangely, when I think back now, that isn't what I remember most.
I remember the laughter in tiny teahouses.
The endless cups of tea.
The encouragement when someone was struggling.
The celebrations after difficult days.
The Sherpas who somehow made impossible things look effortless.
The friends who started out as strangers and ended up feeling like family.
Everest gave us the backdrop.
The people made it unforgettable.
Why I wrote the book
When I came home, everyone asked me the same question.
"So... what was it like?"
It's an impossible question to answer.
How do you explain standing beneath the highest mountain on Earth?
How do you describe crossing glaciers, climbing mountain passes, waking up in freezing teahouses and sharing the experience with people you'll never forget?
Every answer felt incomplete.
So I started writing.
At first, it was simply to preserve the memories before they faded.
The funny moments.
The difficult moments.
The conversations.
The people.
The little details that photographs never quite capture.
One chapter became another.
Then another.
Before I knew it, I wasn't writing notes anymore.
I was writing a book.
It took almost two years to finish.
There were early mornings before work.
Late nights after everyone else had gone to bed.
Entire weekends spent rewriting chapters over and over again.
I wanted readers to feel as though they were walking beside me.
Not reading a guidebook.
Living the adventure.
Looking back
It's funny how life works.
I thought I was signing up for a walking challenge.
Instead...
I discovered a lifelong passion for hiking.
I found an incredible community of people who have become genuine friends.
I explored parts of the UK I might never otherwise have visited.
I travelled to Nepal.
I stood beneath the highest mountain on Earth.
I came home inspired to create Walking in Circles UK, so I could encourage others to get outdoors and discover their own adventures.
And eventually...
I wrote my first book.
None of that was part of the plan.
It all started with four words typed into Google on a cold day in January 2019.
Thank you
This isn't just the story behind my book.
It's really a thank you.
Thank you to everyone at Ultra Challenge for creating events that inspire ordinary people to do extraordinary things.
Thank you to every expedition leader, guide, Sherpa and porter who made our Everest adventure possible.
And thank you to every walker I've met over the past few years who has shared a few miles, a few laughs, and occasionally a few blisters along the way.
You probably don't realise the impact you've had on my life.
Without that first Google search...
Without that first Ultra Challenge event...
Without that Everest Base Camp presentation...
There would be no Walking in Circles UK.
There would be no Everest story to tell.
And there certainly wouldn't be a book.
If there's one thing I've learned, it's that extraordinary journeys rarely begin with extraordinary moments.
Sometimes they begin with something as simple as saying yes to a challenge.
Or typing three words into Google.
Everest Base Camp & Gokyo Lakes – A Midlife Journey to the World's Greatest Trek is the story of that adventure. It's about friendship, resilience, laughter, self-doubt and discovering that ordinary people are capable of far more than they ever imagine.
If you're thinking about signing up for your first Ultra Challenge, I'd encourage you to do it.
You never know where that first step might lead.
Marc
