AS a school girl Karina Hooker hated PE and was not a fan of walking but now she is to undertake a 115k hike through through the foothills of the Himalayas to Everest base camp.

Miss Hooker, 29, who works for the Gazette as a media sales executive will be raising money for our Julia's House Appeal when she takes part in the challenge from October 8 to 23.

She has set herself a target of £500 but hopes with the help of Gazette readers she can exceed this amount.

Miss Hooker said: "I always wanted to do the trek for charity but hadn't decided which one. When I heard about the Julia's House appeal and the wonderful work done by the charity I decided it would be an excellent way to help.

"I have a cousin who is severely disabled and needs to be looked after 24 hours a day so I understand some of the strain that is on parents who are helped by Julia's House."

For the past couple of years Miss Hooker has been undertaking a number of ever more difficult challenges. She said: "The Everest challenge was on my bucket list but I realised I had to work up to it. When I was at school I hated PE and all sports. The only thing I enjoyed was horse riding.

"But my dad Malcolm has a bit of crazy gene that I think I have inherited. He has done loads of ultra marathons. I don't like running but I like the challenge of treks."

Last year she completed a hike up Kilimanjaro and suffered altitude sickness so she is a bit worried about how she will be on the Everest trip.

She said: "I am hoping I will be ok. I have been told that the body adjusts and because I had it before it will have adapted. But I was very sick for the last few days of that trip.

"I more or less had to crawl for the final couple of kilometres."

She started training in earnest this week for Everest and went for a ten-mile walk on Sunday. She intends to step up the distances over the next few weeks and will be undertaking two marathons over two days in Iceland from April 9.

She will be doing the Everest trek with event firm Action Challenge which says: "Conquering Everest base camp is a real challenge, that people will remember forever. For 16 days they will be trekking and travelling as part of a team, working together to overcome the tests of walking at altitude and exploring a new country."

To sponsor Miss Hooker go to www.justgiving.com/karinaseverestchallenge