Red Cross Blogs

Have you reached your peak?

By Alix Miller
March 24, 2009 at 5:31 pm

The other night my Mum plied me with wine and then said, quite casually: “Wouldn’t it be fun to do the 3 Peaks Challenge together?”

Now obviously my Mum, aged 63, is not typical. She is probably the fittest person I know and possesses such inexhaustible energy levels, that I sometimes wonder if she’s actually human.

If she’s not cycling to work, she’s playing tennis or rushing around completing chores from her eternal ‘to do’ list. The concept of sitting down and relaxing is an alien one. She also happened to do the 24 Peaks Challenge last year…as you do.

I like to think that by contrast, I possess a healthy level of laziness. Yes, I’m active, but I’m also keen on relaxation and definitely comfort. So when she suggested I climb the UK’s three highest peaks…in 24 hours as part of her team, in aid of the Railway Children …well, through a few glasses of wine, it seemed like an okay idea…fun even.

The next day, in the cold light of day, the prospect of having to fundraise hundreds of pounds, get superfit, then climb the highest peaks in England, Scotland and Wales, seemed a little daunting:

“Couldn’t we go to a nice spa instead?” I asked Mum in a small voice. “No,” came the clipped reply.

Now I’ve had a chance to think about it though, I can see the appeal of pushing myself to the limit in the name of a good cause. I like the idea of having a goal to get into shape for and the sense of adventure and camaraderie that will come from taking part. It’s also a good mother-daughter bonding opportunity.

Being single, of course there’s also the prospect of running into lots of scrummy muscular types during the event itself.

So I’ve signed up to the event, which takes place in September. I’ve already started walking up the six flights of stairs at work, four times a day and am doing a rock climbing course to build strength. Luckily my bike ride to and from work adds up to 48 miles a week, so I’m already on track on the training front.

Keep reading my posts to keep track of my progress. Better still, why don’t you sign up yourself and a team to the British Red Cross 3 Peaks Challenge on 25 and 26 July. If you do so before March 31, you’ll only pay a £125 registration fee (usually £250 per team).

If that sounds a little too hardcore, there’s always the British Red Cross Yorkshire 3 Peaks Challenge with an entry fee of just £10 and minimum sponsorship of £100. You can choose between one, two or the full three peaks.

Go on…if my Mum can do it, then so can you!

---

Comments (15) »

---

Tags: 24 peaks challenge, 3 peaks challenge, endurance, England, fundraising, Scotland, Wales, yorkshire

The Red Cross values comments both complimentary and critical. However, we will not tolerate the following: aggressive or personal criticism of the blogger, breach of copyright, obscene, defamatory, profane, sexually oriented, racially offensive or likewise objectionable comments.

This entry was posted on Tuesday, March 24th, 2009 at 5:31 pm and is filed under Fundraising and events. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

---