[/caption]The team from Commercial who undertook the arduous Malvern Hills 24 Hour Challenge have managed to raise £2,766 in sponsorship, which will go to Acorns Hospice.
Peter Geoghegan tells us how it all went:
"Now that I’ve had a few days to recover, I can report back to you on the walk we undertook last week. We knew we had set ourselves a tough task and it proved to be every bit as challenging as we expected, if not more so. Of the nine that set out at 10am Thursday, only five crossed the line at 10am the following morning – Darren Spratt, Simon Edwards, Phil Williams, Luke Simons and myself.
[caption id="attachment_1179" align="aligncenter" width="500" caption="Some hearty hiking"]
[/caption]We were blessed with perfect weather, narrowly escaping a soaking as the heavens opened over Herefordshire and Wales early on Thursday afternoon – clearly visible from our lofty viewpoint high on the hills. Spirits were high and we picked up a good walking pace. However, by 8pm when we stopped at the Wyche Inn for our evening meal, it’s fair to say exhaustion was setting in. But we had broken the back of the challenge with 25 miles under our belts. After a good meal and some liquid refreshment we were back on the trail at just after 9pm. We were treated to a beautiful sunset and we kept on into the dark of night under a moon-less sky.
[caption id="attachment_1180" align="aligncenter" width="374" caption="Watching the sun go down"]
[/caption]We reached camp (British Camp) at 11.30pm for an hour’s rest. At this point, Becca and Carrie made the difficult decision to end their challenge attempt. Both had been carrying injuries picked up on a charity walk the week before but had still managed to clock up an amazing 32 miles in under 14 hours. So at 12.30am Friday morning, the remaining seven headed off to climb Worcestershire Beacon for the penultimate (5th!) time. After the descent, Neil and Tim decided to take the long walk back to camp. Both had picked up injuries along the way. The night passed quickly and the remaining five were re-energised by the rising sun.
[caption id="attachment_1181" align="aligncenter" width="500" caption="Daunting view?"]
[/caption]We returned to camp at 5.30am and took a well deserved 90 minute break before the final push. So at 7am Friday, Darren, Phil, Simon, Luke and myself climbed British Camp with Neil and Tim following on a lower path for part of the way to urge us on. At 10am, in the glorious sunshine we completed the challenge and celebrated with bacon butties and cups of tea at British Camp. 24 hours. 80 peaks. 48 miles. Never again!
A big thank you to everybody who supported us and for all the donations made to Acorns Hospice. It’s not too late if you wish to give a little towards this cause. Just go to our Justgiving page: http://www.justgiving.com/LUKE-SIMONS/ "
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