While the majority of the Shiplake Community was enjoying a well-earned break this half term, a group of staff decided to take advantage of the 'rest' time and set themselves some challenges.
Firstly Head of Athletic Development, Mr Ed Bowden ran the entire length of the Thames Path (from source to mouth) covering 180 miles in 4 days for the charity WIRTH, which supports people suffering with poor mental health through the sale of hats. Then after a day's rest, he took a group of staff made up of Mr Geyton, Mr Batchelor and Mrs Farrell and partners to conquer the Three Peaks Challenge. Unfortunately at the last minute, Dr Gemma Prata couldn't join them, so she completed her own mountain climbing challenge at home!
Mr Bowden's Thames Path Challenge
Starting on Sunday 30 May I set about running the length of the Thames from source to mouth in four days. A distance of 180 miles taking me across nine counties in the journey. The first day consisted of finding the source, a stone plinth in the middle of a field with no water near it! And then making my way from the source (near Kemble) to Bablock. This was 82km and involved going through two rivers, thigh height and negotiating tough terrain.
The second day was from Bablock to Moulsford (62km) and was the hardest day due to the heat and again the terrain. I was joined by Mr Duncan Miller for 15km which was much needed. We managed to avoid problems despite nearly stepping on a snake and having to make a bridge across a river to bypass a cow protecting its calves.
Day 2 was, however, cut short in Moulsford due to the Thames Path being closed by police as there was a bomb disposal team investigating something that had been pulled out the river. This left me behind where I wanted to be so recovery was really important to be able to make up the distance in the last two days.
Day 3 took me from Moulsford to Windsor - another scorcher and again the terrain was unrelenting. The hills around Streatley were hard to adjust to but then it was enjoyable to run on a section I knew well from Pangbourne to Marlow. Passing the school was a big boost as well as timing it to have lunch! The afternoon was a continued challenge and I got as far as I could before deciding that rest and a final push was the way forward from Windsor.
I woke up early on the last day to try and get as much done in the colder temperatures as possible, this involved a 4.15am Uber journey and the driver waking me up when I arrived in Windsor! The terrain helped on the last day with many more paths and tarmac which was a welcome change from the uneven fields and marshy land. I met a friend in Kingston which was 40km into the day and was aware that there was still plenty to do before any celebration could happen. I made my way past the tourist spots of the London Eye, Tower Bridge and the Shard before the last push to Greenwich and around the O2 Arena to the Thames Barrier. I finished the run just before 9.00pm on the fourth day.
Mr Bowden completed the challenge for WIRTH Hats who sponsor counselling sessions for people who are struggling with poor mental health. The aim is to make counselling accessible for all and more importantly normal for all.
Three Peaks Challenge
On Friday 4 June, a group of staff including Mr Geyton, Mr Batchelor, Mrs Farrell and Mr Bowden (the group's driver) left Shiplake to drive up to Ben Nevis and take on the Three Peaks Challenge. The challenge involves climbing up and down the highest peaks in England, Wales and Scotland within 24 hours.
After a comfortable night's stay in the Glen Nevis Youth Hostel at the base of Ben Nevis, the group started their ascent at 6.44am. The Ben Nevis climb begins with part of the route labelled heart attack trail due to the steepness of the path. At the top there was deep snow that had to be overcome. The group made good time, returning to the minibus within five hours. Then came a drive to Scafell Pike which took five hours giving the group the opportunity to climb Scafell Pike in the light. They absolutely smashed this climb by completing it in under three hours, despite it involving scrambling up scree and running parts of the descent. This put the group in a great position to complete the challenge in 24 hours.
From 10.00pm to 2.00am the group moved from Scafell Pike to Snowdon and caught up on some rest from the day thus far. Starting Snowdon in the dark they went carefully through the first sections and everyone got through well to complete the challenge in 23 hours and 15 minutes. 45 minutes spare!
Dr Prata's Virtual Three Peaks Challenge
Over the half term I was all set to join in the national Three Peaks Challenge with colleagues, however, close contact with a positive COVID case frustratingly scuppered those plans. Instead of moping about, I started investigating how I might be able to join the challenge virtually, from the "comfort" of my own home and raise a bit of money for a charity dear to me at the same time.
A quick Google search led me to discover the equivalent height of each mountain in flights of stairs. Scafell Pike, the tallest peak in England, is 412 flights of stairs; Mount Snowdon, the tallest peak in Wales, is 475 flights of stairs; and Ben Nevis, Scotland, a towering 587 flights of stairs. There was only one issue, I don't have any stairs at home. No problem, I thought, I'll do it in mountain climbers instead! I then calculated how many mountain climbers would be equivalent to a flight of stairs and came up with the number 15. So, Ben Nevis would take a whopping 8,805 mountain climbers to complete, Scafell Pike 6,180 and Snowdon 7,125. In total, the challenge was to complete 22,110 mountain climbers in 24 hours.
I broke this down into three sessions and tried to complete each mountain at around the same time as the rest of the group doing the real thing. Words of encouragement from friends and family, along with many generous donations in support of the Bone Cancer Research Trust helped get me through in under 24 hours. Ben Nevis took just under 4 hours, Scafell Pike took 2 and half hours and Snowdon took just over 2 and a half, totalling just over nine hours moving time.
So far I have raised £287 for the Bone Cancer Research Trust, which is a charity dedicated to saving lives and improving outcomes for people affected by primary bone cancer. Despite being small, they fund more research projects exploring primary bone cancer than any other organisation. Other large UK cancer research charities do not prioritise bone cancer patients, in 2019 just 0.028% of their research spend went to bone cancer – not even close to 1%! Last year alone, the Bone Cancer Research Trust committed an incredible £807,824 to pioneering bone cancer research - to save lives!
I chose to raise money for this charity in memory of a friend, Matt Greenwood, who we lost in 2016. As a keen rower and mountaineer, the Three Peaks seemed like the perfect challenge to undertake to remember him. If you would like to donate, you can do so here.
A huge well done and congratulations to Mr Bowden, Dr Prata, Mrs Farrell, Mr Geyton and Mr Batchelor for their amazing half term achievements!
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