BlueBolder: 24 Hours of Hell...

23 strangers signed up to see if they could survive 24 hours in Hell… No idea what was coming, no concept of time, and no communication with the outside world. All they knew was if they didn't voluntarily withdraw for 24 hours, they would be crowned a "Hell Weekend Finisher" something very few have ever achieved.

This year, out of the 23 who signed up, only 4 made it to the end including our very first female finisher!

This is worth the read…

Sarah or "Number 7" is a former member of the Irish Defence Force & currently works as a Paramedic in Cork - Ireland.

If you wanted an advert for not judging a book by its cover, then this is it.

Without giving too much away of what happens during Hell Weekend, the first 4 hours contained Sarah's biggest weakness. If you'd have asked the instructors during this period do you think she would have made it, they probably would have said no.

However…

As the agenda of the camp changed, it became more about mindset, determination, and mental strength over physical, brute strength. Obviously, it was still VERY physical, but again, without giving too much away, it became a lot more mental. And this without a doubt suited Sarah as she is one of the most mentally strong and determined human beings the C2C team have ever seen on any Civvy 2 Commando event.

And even though for every minute of the 24 hours she was going through hell and an unbelievable amount of physical and mental stress; a true testament of her character was she was always looking at how she could help someone else. The recruits were told to pair up with someone of equal size and weight for fireman's carry's. She was the smallest there, but she choose to carry the biggest man.

DC (Chief Instructor at Civvy 2 Commando) said this:
"During the night we asked the recruits: Who do you think is the strongest person here when times get tough?" Sarah didn't even flinch and replied "Me." "She is an absolute BEAST! And I would not get in her way because she will achieve anything in life she sets her mind to."

As the first female to ever finish Hell Weekend she walks away with her very own Civvy 2 Commando NITE Watch with all 4 elements of the Commando Spirit engraved on the back as a reminder of what she demonstrated throughout that weekend.

Courage. Determination. Cheerfulness in the face of Adversity Unselfishness.

Sarah commented:
"Thank you so much. Hell Weekend was by far one of the toughest things I've ever put myself through, 24 hours of being pushed way past my comfort zone physically and mentally. Huge respect to you and the lads for running such a challenging event and for bringing your Royal Marine Commando experience into it. I'm grateful to have been a part of it, proud to have made it through, and will wear my NITE Watch with pride!"