This girl did

By Helen Tatchell

Jack Judge sang “It’s a long way to Tipperary”, but it is a much longer slog on the Camino in Spain.
At 73-years of age, Glenda Stott from Maddingley, walked over 400kms recently in extreme conditions on her own on the popular bucket list destination, the Camino Trail.
A regular at the Seniors class at the Leisure Centre where she trained for the walk, Glenda was also part of Moorabool Shire Councils ‘This Girl Can’ campaign and became one of the poster girls for that campaign.
Glenda said she averaged around 25km a day with a day pack on her back.
“The furthest I walked in one day was 38km,” she said.
And if you are thinking how can a 73-year old be fit and walk that far, it came with medical barriers.
“I have sugar diabetes and am insulin dependent, but I knew my body and carried insulin and always had fruit on hand and listened to my body,” she said.
And what stopped her getting blisters? Glenda had a secret weapon.
“My pure wool merino socks helped and also the walking sticks prevented any injuries, which I recommend to anyone walking a long distance.
“The trail is plentiful at times with people and I had support from various walkers along the way and to my surprise, met a local Ballan girl walking with two other women from Australia,” she said.
Don’t be fooled the Camino is not a nicely paved concrete, well signed path either, with Glenda saying getting lost can be easy.
“If you don’t follow the arrows which are located every 100-metres it is quite possible to get lost, but you have to keep your eyes open as they are located on roads, lamp posts, trees and in bizarre places.”
Glenda almost took a wrong road, but luckily for her a kind German man yelled out, “Are you Camino? It’s this way”.
“That was lucky, or it would have been a long walk back to get on track,” she said.
And the most challenging part of the walk was not the language barrier or the isolation.
“It would have to be the 38km rough stone track conquering the hills of Rabanall, which was extremely tiring also.
“I had a translation app on my mobile phone so the language was fairly easy,” she said.
And how does a ‘senior’ woman prepare for such an adventure?
“Well I participated in the Seniors class twice a week; walked 20km per week in the bush and also standing on concrete for six-hours at work toughened me up.”
Whilst Glenda is achieving for herself, she is also an inspiration to others.
“Just get out there and have a go,” she said.
Plans for a cycling trip through Ireland is already preparing to be ticked off as the next item on Glenda’s bucket list.
This Girl Can, and did.