INSTEAD of sitting in the garden, enjoying the sunshine this weekend, Dawn Fidler, SuperJosh’s mum and co-founder of The Joshua Wilson Brain Tumour Charity, headed to Wales for TrekFest.

Dawn accompanied Coronation Street actresses Catherine Tyldesley (Eva), Tisha Merry (Steph) and Katie McGlynn (Sinead) to brave the tough 50 km trek through the Brecon Beacons, alongside other clients and friends of Manchester based publicity firm, Vital Management and Publicity.

Other team members included Vital’s Laura Graham; VIVAEms; Andrew Cheung and Matt Warner from Ultimate Performance Manchester and Carly Guy.

Dawn said: “It was definitely my hardest trek challenge so far, despite the training we put in beforehand. We set off at 9.30am in the morning on Saturday, and crossed the finish line at five minutes to midnight.

“Climbing Pen Y Fan, the highest mountain in South Wales, was tough. I was literally panting when we got to the top! Then the descent was even worse. It was much harder coming down the hills than we thought, by the time we’d reached that point we’d already walked so far and there was a lot of pressure on our hips and knees so it was a struggle."

Such an epic experience conjured up a range of emotions for the entire team, and certainly proved to be a fantastic bonding experience. According to stats produced on the day, 30 per cent of those who started the trek had to pull out at some stage, unable to cross the finishing line. Dawn said it is thanks to the group she was walking with, as well as her son Josh that kept her going.

“The strength of my boy and knowing how much money has been raised for both charities made sure I just kept putting one foot in front of the other!”

Donations are still coming in from the event, but at the last count, Team Vital had raised nearly £10,000 which is to be split between The Joshua Wilson Brain Tumour Charity and Parkinsons UK.

Official corporate sponsors for Team Vital included Vital Management & Publicity, Regatta, David Lloyd, Ultimate Performance, Penny Crayon and Jim Bags

To donate please visit http://uk.virginmoneygiving.com/teamvital01