An Air Engineering Commander from RNAS Yeovilton will ‘work through the pain barrier’ as she undertakes the Jurassic Coast 100km Ultra Challenge for charity.

Polly Hatchard, 47, will walk from Corfe Castle to Bridport on Saturday, May 18, in aid of the Rainbow Trust, which supports the families of children with a terminal illness.

She said: “I have my health, my children and a career I love. I have so much more than some other people, and so I want to give something to help others less fortunate.

The challenge is notorious for being one of the hardest Ultra events in the UK, with climbs of more than 2,300 metres and tough terrain. It will be particularly hard for Polly, who injured her feet when she trekked to the South Pole in 2007 – the first military woman to do so.

She said: “I have suffered a lot of nerve and ligament damage in my feet. So my greatest threat, in training and on the actual event, is not being able to take the excruciating pain that builds over time on the balls of my feet and toes. Mentally, I will just have to work through the pain barrier. My pain will be the children’s gain.

"I think the night section along Chesil Beach will be the hardest part. 1am, 2am, 3am ... as support goes home, I will have been walking for over 13 hours, covered around 50km of ups and downs along the Jurassic cliffs (my feet will be screaming) and I will still have another 50km to go, and on exhausting loose boulders and beach material."

Polly has chosen to fundraise for the Rainbow Trust after seeing how the charity has supported the family of a pupil at her children’s school. She is also undertaking the challenge in memory of her late father Max, who she says would be proud of her ‘moment of total and utter madness’.

To donate to Polly’s cause, visit her JustGiving page.