3 Peaks Challenge Completed!
27th August 2009

At nineteen minutes to 5pm, Monday June the 8th, Guy, Kevin, Ian and Ben staggered back into the Snowdon car park relieved it was done. Smiles grew across their faces as they were welcomed by Alex. They had done the Three Peaks 24 hour Challenge in 23 hours 41 minutes - up and down Ben Nevis, up and down Scafell Pike and up and down Snowdon - a great achievement!

It was an adventure, a great experience and we learnt a lot about each other - and that Ian can sleep pretty much anywhere!

In the process we raised nearly £1200 for Cancer Research - thank you all who donated. It is very much appreciated by us and by Cancer Research.

The details:

We started up Ben Nevis at 5pm Sunday June 7 from the Glen Nevis Hostel. It started raining at 4:58pm. It is a beautiful trail and opened up to magnificent views. We reached the snow covered top about 7:15pm and after soaking it up, throwing a few snow balls, we headed down.

We got down about 9:15pm and after a slow change of clothes we were off to Scafell Pike, trying to sleep on the way.

We reached Seathwaite PC (the north side of Scafell Pike) and headed off at just before 4am Monday the 8th, nearly 11 hours into the challenge. Scafell was by far the toughest of the mountains, though we were told accessing from the south was easier. We got to the top at about 6:30am. It was cooler here than Ben Nevis but no snow. Again some great views were soaked up. This was the toughest mountain by far and we had to clamber over loose rocks to get to the top.

We descended Scafell and headed off to Snowdon about 9am.

A full Snowdon car park greeted us and we quickly grabbed our kit and left with the time nearly 1:15pm. We had three and three quarter hours to get up and down - it was going to be tough.

We started off perhaps too fast and I twisted my knee three quarters of an hour in. We got up just before 3pm, leaving two hours to get back down. It was still going to be tough with me holding them back. Going up was easier than going down!

We did it - with nearly 20 minutes to spare. It was tough, probably the toughest thing we'd ever done. "Never again" we muttered. Looking back, it was a very satisfying accomplishment. A good team building exercise too. Guy, Kevin and Ian seem tired but unscathed. My knee was sore but I was back running again in a week.

Now the next challenge - Leicester Half Marathon anyone?

Thanks for all your support, monetary and verbally.

Ben