Three Peaks Challenge - Heading North



Look out for the logo in a Mercedes Vito full of sleeping men 



Well, the training is now over and the bags are all packed ready for the team to leave Somerset and head north.

There are still a few aches & pains and injury niggles among the lads, but by far the biggest worry is the weekend weather forecast! It appears the heavens will definitely open and dump a huge amount of rain over the UK on Friday and Saturday, the only question is exactly when and where that will be!

A few weeks ago, Scafell Pike (the English leg of the challenge) was virtually inaccessible due to the heavy rainfall in the Lake District when Wastwater burst its banks. So it’s no surprise the team have been focused on waterproofs and other serious wet weather gear this week.

However, despite the prospect of less than favourable weather, the team are determined to give it all they have and also to enjoy the challenge along the way. Many friends, family, work colleagues and even strangers have supported the lads during this adventure and every donation is making a difference. Indeed, even the well wishes received are helping the team and raising awareness for Breakthrough Breast Cancer.

For the many people who’ll be thinking of the boys over the next few days, below is a rough itinerary with some rough general times as a guide – the actual start time will depend on how busy the base of Ben Nevis is on Friday afternoon, so it makes sense to stay flexible.

There are many different versions of the National Three Peaks 24 Hour Challenge, but the most common is to start the clock at the base of Ben Nevis and then stop it at the base of Snowdon, after climbing it of course. However, more ambitious people start their challenge by ‘touching water’ at Loch Linnhe in Fort William before driving to base of Ben Nevis and only stop the clock once they ‘touch water’ at the Castle in Caernarfon after completing Snowdon, which also requires another drive. Even though our team will probably be touching water from the sky for significant parts of the challenge, they have decided to at least try to ‘touch water’ at the start and finish, although common sense has told them to also take a timing from the normal place at the base of Ben Nevis and to treat the Loch Linnhe start time as a’bonus’!!!

So... very rough approximate plan:

Thursday 09:00 am                 Leave Somerset and drive 430 miles to Drymen near Loch Lomand where the team will stay overnight

Friday 10:00 am                      Drive 90 miles to Glen Nevis Visitor Camp to get bearings before driving to Fort William for lunch and final preparations.

Friday 04:40 pm                      Touch water at Loch Linnhe (note bonus start time)

Friday 05:00 pm                      Start climb of Ben Nevis (start time)

Friday 08:00 pm                      Reach summit

Friday 10:00 pm                      Complete Ben Nevis

Friday 10:15 pm                      Drive 260 miles to Wasdale Head in Cumbria after change of clothes and some hot food & drink

                       

Saturday 04:00 am                  Start climb of Scafell Pike

Saturday 06:00 am                  Reach Summit

Saturday 08:00 am                  Complete Scafell Pike

Saturday 08:15 am                  Drive 220 miles to Pen-Y-Pass in Snowdonia after change of clothes and some more hot food & drink

Saturday 01:00 pm                  Start climb of Snowdon

Saturday 03:00 pm                  Reach Summit

Saturday 05:00 pm                  Complete Snowdon (stop clock – hopefully less than 24 hrs!!!)

Saturday 05:30 pm                  Touch water at Caernarfon (stop bonus clock)

Saturday 05:31 pm                  Celebrate and stay over in Caernarfon

Sunday 10:00 am                    Drive 214 miles back to Somerset (hopefully not via A&E).

                       

All the above times are just guidelines and the team could lose time at certain sections but make it up at others – but it’s a fairly reasonable timetable.

How much sleep will be achieved between the mountains will be interesting but tiredness is expected to kick in at some point!

Thanks again to everyone who has taken an interest - Good Luck Lads!

Julies Legacy - Why We Are Doing This

Three Peaks Challenge

Training Update

Kind sponsors

Training Upate - Two Weeks To Go


Some photos from the last few months!

Pretty in Pink

Sunny Saturday on Exmoor

Halway up Scafell Pike in May on Training Climb

                          

The Summit of Scafell Pike in May - Nice and Dry!

These Views From Scafell Pike are VERY Unlikely During Challenge

Thanks again for reading and supporting the Somerset Breakthrough Breast Cancer Group

Three Peaks Training Update - Two Weeks To Go

Three Peaks Challenge

With just two weeks to go until the challenge, minds are being focused and plans are being finalised!  

After concerns over the minibus restriction of 62 mph, the team have now decided to use a 9 seater people carrier in the hope that less travel time between the peaks will allow them maximum time for getting up and down those mountains. The smaller vehicle may have less space for stretching out and access to gear, but on balance this looks like the better choice.

The vehicle change makes even more sense now that several team members are carrying some rather worrying injuries, with Giles’ shoulder & ankle, Iaine’s knee and Andy’s heel all causing a fair amount of concern. It is fair to say that many fingers and toes are being crossed!

Provisions for the attempt have been given an excellent boost recently thanks to the good people from DHL at  Morrisons Distribution Centre, who kindly organised a bumper supply of pot noodles, energy drinks and cereal bars, which will be perfect for the team to refuel during the 24 hrs. The DHL staff have also raised a significant amount of sponsor money amongst themselves for the attempt, for which we are very grateful!!

 

The team with DHL staff when they collected sponsorship and provisions!

                                        
                                           Please see this post about other kind sponsors

If you would like to make an online donation, please use the following link:

http://www.justgiving.com/somersetallsorts  

Or if you are a local business who would like to get involved, please do get in touch by contacting one of the team or emailing SomersetBreakthrough@gmail.com

At the time of writing this, the north of England is under a terrible deluge of rainstorms and the middle of the 3 peaks, Scafell Pike, is virtually a no-go area due to flooded roads and horrendous conditions. This is ruining the three peaks attempts of many groups this weekend, so everyone is hoping for better weather and luck on July 6^th and 7^th!

On the subject of horrendous weather, four of the team travelled to Snowdon last weekend for a training hike and fact finding mission. Unfortunately, storms and 70mph+ winds made the summit unreachable. Despite the disappointment of not getting to the top of Snowdon, the lads certainly found out exactly how un-waterproof some of their gear is, which prepared them for the possibility of how uncomfortable the attempt will be if it is wet!

We’re hoping there will be a picture of the team in the Bridgwater Mercury this coming Tuesday, which will give the challenge and of course Breakthrough a little more publicity.

Finally, here’s a pic from a training hike on the Mendips this morning (it was not staged, even if it looks like it!)
 

"Yep... we're heading that way..."

 Previous Three Peaks Update


In memory of Julie Selway:
Julies Legacy - Touch Look Check


Thanks for reading! 

Ladies Night October 12th 2012

* * * *  FRIDAY OCTOBER 12TH 2012  * * * *

Set the date in your diaries ladies, for the women of the Somerset Breakthrough Breast Cancer Group are organising another saucy night of entertainment for you!

This year, our fun and games will be held at Dickies Bar (yes, that's right) at Unity Farm in Brean.

Tickets are only £15, so if you are local then why not pop along - a great time was had by all last year!

Group members with last year's special guests!

More details to follow, but if you would like to know more info then please do email HollyMacBeth@sky.com 

Here's a link about last year's event 
Ladies Night 2011

Three Peaks Training Update

Three Peaks Challenge

With just 4 weeks to go until the attempt, the lads are still training as much as they can to build up their stamina and mountain legs!

Early morning on Brean Down

Although jogging and general gym work undoubtedly helps, there’s really no substitute for time spent hiking up and down the Somerset hills in the clothes & kit that will be used on Ben Nevis, Scafell Pike and Mount Snowdon. You learn small but important lessons, such as how best to pack your rucksack and which energy snacks/drinks you prefer – small details go a long way.  

The team are regularly making the most of the Quantocks, Exmoor & Mendips and are getting stronger & fitter after every walk.

Wills Neck

Because they will be starting (hopefully) the English leg of the challenge in the middle of the night, they are planning on at least one night-time training hike, so they can test out their head torches and get some experience of hiking in the dark.

It doesn’t help that Scafell Pike is the hardest peak to climb and navigate, but they climbed it in daylight on a training run in early May, so have given themselves every chance of success. 

Summit of Scafell Pike!

Sponsorship is going well with most money being pledged on the lads’ individual sponsor forms rather than the team’s Just Giving page, and we have been lucky enough to secure some excellent backing from local businesses as well.

Please see following post:

Kind Sponsors of the Challenge 

On a sadder note, team member Chris Curtis has unfortunately pulled out of the attempt due to unforeseen work and family commitments. Although a huge disappointment, Chris recognised that he couldn’t meet the amount of preparation & training that the challenge requires, and so has sensibly stood down. The national three peaks 24 hour challenge is a seriously difficult undertaking that demands respect and shouldn’t be attempted without the correct training.

But Chris has wished the rest of the team well and will be rooting for us all the way.

Hopefully we’ll post some more pictures soon.

In memory of Julie Selway:
Julies Legacy - Touch Look Check

Thanks for reading!

Training Update - Two Weeks To Go

Kind Sponsors of our Three Peaks Challenge

All of us at the Somerset Breakthrough Breast Cancer Group are extremely grateful for everyone who has sponsored this attempt and are helping make it happen.

As well as the team’s online Just Giving page, the lads are all very proud that so many friends, family and work colleagues are signing their individual sponsor forms, which is making all the training a little bit easier.

But the team would like to take this opportunity to acknowledge the following local companies & businesses that have stepped up and supported the attempt in a major way – without their generous help and contributions we wouldn’t be raising anywhere near the amount that we are hopefully on target to achieve.

So, many many thanks to the following people:

  

For supplying the transport




For keeping the transport on the road



  

For a bumper sponorship donation of £500





Whose kind staff sponsored the team with donations they raised amongst themselves.

They also organised donations of pot noodles, energy bars & drinks from their partners at  



Distribution Centre 



The 3 peaks team with DHL staff when they collected their provisions and sponsorship 

 

                                        THANK YOU EVERYONE !!

If you would like to make an online donation, please use the following link:

http://www.justgiving.com/somersetallsorts  

Or if you are a local business who would like to get involved, please do get in touch by contacting one of the team or emailing SomersetBreakthrough@gmail.com

The Three Peaks Challenge

Can they conquer the 3 highest mountains in under 24 hours!?

Time: Under 24 hours

Venue: Three Highest Mountains in the United Kingdom

Event details: On July 6th 2012, a team of Somerset Group members and supporters are attempting the famous Three Peaks Challenge to raise money and awareness for Breakthrough Breast Cancer.

The men, all from Somerset, will be pushing their bodies to the limit as they aim to climb Ben Nevis, Scafell Pike and Mount Snowdon all in the space of 24 gruelling hours.

The attempt was kick started by Group member Iaine Selway when he decided to embark on the challenge in memory of his wife Julie who lost her battle with Breast Cancer 2 years ago aged 35.

Former Somerset Group member Julie was the inspiration for Julies Legacy, which helps promote Breakthrough’s TLC awareness campaign (see our Julie's Legacy article in the 2011 archive).

Once Iaine announced his plans, he was soon joined by friends & family and the training began!

Above left to right: Dave Godfrey, Chris Curtis, Rob Anthony (driver), Marc Selway, Alan Tait (looking flushed), Giles Mason, Andy Farkas, Iaine Selway, and Eugene Martin (this pic was taken at the base of Scafell Pike before a training climb on May 12th).

Although the challenge has been done many times before, the team (with an average age of 40) is under no illusions just how hard it will be.

Group member Marc explained... “Even though we are all reasonably fit and active, most of the lads are novices when it comes to hill & mountain walking. We all know this challenge will be a huge test of physical & mental endurance, so we’re not underestimating it in any way. If it was easy then it wouldn’t be worth doing, but we’re determined to beat the 24 hour limit and raise as much money and awareness for Breakthrough as possible.”

Fellow group member Eugene added... “As much as our drivers Rob and Ivan were tempted by the prospect of being racked with severe pain and exhaustion on a cold windswept mountainside, someone has to drive the bus and rustle up some coffee for when we get back down! But all joking aside, the support crew will be invaluable on the day and if we can complete all three peaks within 24 hours, it will be an amazing team effort and achievement. The horrid disease touches the lives of far too many people, so everyone who supports the team can know they are helping work towards a future free from the fear of Breast Cancer.”

The team have already received kind offers from local companies and individuals, but would truly love to raise as much money as they can.
If anyone would like to donate then please visit Iaine's justgiving page below:

www.justgiving.com/somersetallsorts

Alternatively, if you think you can help the team in any other way, even if its just a good luck message then do please email SomersetBreakthrough@Gmail.com

For those of you on Twitter, the team hope to tweet their progress as they go, so please follow our group account @BreakthroughSom

Over the next few weeks we'll be updating this page with snippets of their training progress - here's a pic of the team at the summit of Scafell Pike during a training weekend in May:

They are currently hiking around the hills of Somerset about twice a week and are planning to climb the 'Somerset 5 Peaks' on the same morning one weekend soon (Brean Down, Crooks Peak, Brent Knoll, Glastonbury Tor and Burrow Mump).

We'll also be updating the page with a list of local business and supporters who are making this attempt possible, as a way of recognising their contribution and support of the team and the Somerset Breakthrough Cancer Group.

Thanks for reading!

Training Update

Training Update - Two Weeks To Go

Kind Sponsors Of The Challenge

Shop For A Cure

A great day despite the weather!

Many thanks to everyone who supported us at our shopping event at Berrow Village Hall on Sunday April 22^nd 2012. 

We were delighted by the response from the public and stall holders for helping us work towards our goal of a future free from the fear of breast cancer.

As well as raising awareness, their kindness and enthusiasm enabled us to raise £400 for Breakthrough Breast Cancer.

Plants, books, cakes, pottery, bags, beauty treatments, sweets, jewellery, cards, sock puppets and nappy cakes were just some of the gifts and offerings available from the 20 plus stalls.  

Plus every stall holder ensured a successful raffle by donating fab items to the prize table.    

A visit from the Mayor and Mayoress, along with local MP Tessa Munt was very much appreciated, although we believe they all declined a go on the inflatable ‘Terror Slide’ due to damp conditions!

Here is a link to a news article with some pics of the event:

http://www.burnham-on-sea.com/news/2012/shop-for-cure-event-22-04-12.php

In fact, everyone thought the day went so well, we are holding another at the same venue on November 18th 2012- so please do put it in your diary for the opportunity of some fabulous Christmas pressies! We even think we'll be able to arrange a visit from Santa!!! 

Here are some more pics taken on the day!

Swish the Clown (twitter aka @TauntonJams) proved his stamina with examples of his party dances!

Our Tombola stall was generously supported - thanks to everyone who bought tickets!

Another twitter friend, Jon from @LivnTheCream brought his vintage ice cream trike along (it wasn't the warmest day but we think that's a blue glove he's wearing and not a really cold hand!)

Group members and young helpers with the Mayor and Mayoress Michael and Maria Clarke who opened the event

Once again, many many thanks to everyone who helped make the event happen.

Maybe see you at our next one in November?