Last year the company I work for decided that the IT department were going to do a challenge for the GOSH appeal. I put my name down for the challenge as I haven’t ever done anything for charity and this even was certainly going to help me in my run to getting fit.
The challenge they decided upon was the National Three Peaks Challenge, which involves climbing the three highest peaks in the UK and completing the walks within 24 hours including travelling.
The peaks are:
Ben Nevis (Scotland)
Snowdon (Wales)
Scafell Pike (Cumbria)
This kind of reminds me back in AugustAugust reviews
where I made a post “Getting the urge to do something crazy…” This certainly is crazy, I am the most unfit person known the man, I get a sweat on just thinking about walking anywhere, if I could take the car anywhere no matter how far away it was, even if it was just popping to the shop for some bread I would take the car. This is going to be a real shock for me but I really am looking forward to the challenge.
This week I will be heading to the Brecon Beacons National Park in South Wales to tackle Pen y Fan which is the highest peak in South Wales, this is going to be the largest walk that I have taken part in it sits at 886 metres above sea level! I did a little walk the other day, well it seemed like miles and miles, in theory when we had finished I stopped the iPhone app and found out it was only 3 miles….not even half the distance of the smallest of the 3 peaks…
How I will be using my iPhone for this adventure
I will be keeping track of my walk using my iPhone. The app is called RunKeeper and uses your iPhones GPSGPS reviews
system to track your location and plot your route on a map. It’s not always very accurate but you can edit the the route to the exact route you took. I won’t go on about the app too much but if you take a look at RunKeeper website you will find all the info you need, their is a free version and a pro version.
If you want to keep track off all my walks and training then just view my profile here http://rzy.me/LV
The Gear
Preparing for this challenge certainly hasn’t been cheap, I had nothing, no walking boots, no water proof clothing, no walking socks, no back pack so as you can imagine when I went to the Go Outdoors store in Wakefield I had a pretty huge bill! I also couldn’t believe it that you can actually buy coats that cost £300+ what the hell is all that about? Saying that my dad bought a beauty for £218.
So far I think I have everything that I am going to need:
? walking boots
? walking poles
? waterproof and windproof trousers
? waterproof and windproof coat
? windproof balaclava
? walking socks
? first aid kit
? head torch
? torch
? hip flask
? rucksack with hydration pack
? base layer T-shirt
? plenty of food
? an extra shirt
? hat
? gaiters
I think I have listed everything I have bought, their has been so much stuff that I don’t even know what else there is anymore! If I have missed something out that you think I will need then please give me a shout or leave a comment on here, I need to make sure I have everything for this!!
The company I work for will be providing compasses, maps and one other member has a navigation system so don’t worry if they are the obvious ones that you notice that aren’t on my list!
Oh and also my iPhone with the RunKeeper app installed!
Quick overview of the challenge then
The Three Peaks Challenge involves climbing the three highest peaks, respectively, in EnglandEngland reviews
, Wales and Scotland, within 24 hours. The Peaks are:
* Snowdon, in Wales (1085m)
* Scafell Pike, in England (978m)
* Ben Nevis, in Scotland (1344m)
It is a popular misconception that the three peaks in question are the three highest in Britain. Over one hundred peaks in Scotland are higher than Scafell Pike, and 56 higher than Snowdon.
Climbing times
MaximumMaximum reviews
climbing times are generally suggested as being around 4 hours for Snowdon, and 5 hours for Ben Nevis and Scafell Pike, but you should aim for a half hour or so under. In itself this time isn’t unrealistic for most relatively fit people, but it’s certainly not a gentle walk, and when three climbs are required within 24 hours the Challenge becomes more difficult, draining your energy and depriving you of sleep.
In order to attempt the National Three Peaks Challenge safely, you must have an adequate level of fitness.
More information about the 3 peaks challenge
For more information please visit this link:
Three Peaks Challenge website http://rzy.me/fa
My final words
I have told myself I will start taking sponsorship as soon as I prove to myself that I can complete Pen y Fan then its all systems go, training every weekend and days through the week, this is not just a challenge for a good cause but also a personal challenge for me of losing weight and starting to be more active rather than as my mrs @eckafatcat would say “living in my own little bubble”
This could very well be the last blog post I ever write, maybe I will not make the Pen y Fan and survive? We will soon find out, during my trip around Pen y Fan I will be taking lots and lots of photos posting them on the RunKeeper app which will publish them onto the map that it plots, I will also be creating a gallery on my blog and also twittering photos en route.
LinksLinks reviews
you may want to see
My Galleries http://rzy.me/8d
My RunKeeper Profile http://rzy.me/LV
My Sponsorship Online Coming soon
My Twitter Photos http://rzy.me/3
My Twitter Account @rhodzy
My Facebook Account http://rzy.me/fb
It would be great to hear from people who have completed the challenge or people who are also taking up the challenge, if so please get in touch via one of the following links above.
I’ll leave it there for now but will update as soon as I complete my walks! Then I will post something just before I take on the challenge.
Oh by the way, we are taking the challenge on at the end of May so not much time!