So, what is the big idea?
Well, it's pretty much as it says on the top of the page - three of us are intending to walk the entire length of the Offa's Dyke Path (177 miles) in 9 days starting on 20th May 2011 and finishing (hopefully alive and without too many blisters) on 28th May 2011. Every penny we raise goes to Woodmarket House Residential Care Home in Lutterworth.
Why Offa's Dyke Path?
Good question. Well, we wanted a challenge. There are so many individuals and groups doing an array of activities to raise money for their chosen charity - from sponsored marathons to sponsored moustache growing - and we just decided that it would have to be something fairly significant if it was to stand out from the rest, and taking on one of the monster national trails seemed to be a good idea at the time. (Besides, Richard already tried to grow a moustache for 'Movember' and, frankly, no one noticed!) We certainly think it is a significant challenge - at 177 miles long across three mountain ranges (including the Black Mountains, a range within the Brecon Beacons National Park) it will certainly mean plenty of training on the run up to May.
So, what sort of training are you doing?
Plenty of walking, that's for sure. We are trying to walk just about every opportunity we get. At weekends we are doing walks of between 6 and 9 miles building up as we go. We plan to have a couple of weekends walking the Malvern range carrying full packs which should replicate fairly closely the terrain we can expect along the Welsh border. And, of course, we're shedding a few pounds by way of a sensible diet (well, Russ and Simon are - Richard's built like a racing snake already).
Do you need any special equipment?
We certainly need plenty of equipment, which we have already bought ourselves (and with help from family). Because we wanted the challenge to be...well, challenging, we decided that we would camp en-route and consequently carry everything we need along the way. So, we have all been raiding Millets and Go Outdoors buying rucksacks, mountain tents, hiking boots, sleeping bags, sleeping mats, cook stoves, hiking trousers, base-layer shirts, hiking socks, gaiters, waterproofs, poop bags (don't ask!), pots and pans, torches and a host of other things that you would never think of - until you walk into Go Outdoors and think...ooh that would come in handy.
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Thank you.
