24 Peaks Challenge for Seafarers’ UK
24 Peaks Challenge – A Memorable Weekend
InterManager Secretary General Kuba Szymanski recalls the trials, tribulations and triumphs of taking part in this gruelling Seafarers UK charity challenge
“ Preparation for the Seafarers UK 24 Peaks Challenge started well in advance, in fact almost eight months earlier than the event. We needed a team which could take on two big challenges: firstly to raise at least £5,000 in sponsorship and secondly to brave the weather in the UK’s Lake District while covering the arduous terrain of its 24 peaks in only 24 hours.
Our team was assembled fairly quickly. First to ‘jump in’ was Bjarke Jakobsen from Seagull. He was quickly joined by Headland Media’s Hannah Merton, Jennifer Crowther, Anthony Royle and Gareth Brown. Regina Bindao from the Nautical Institute then completed our squad.
The hardest bit was probably collecting sponsorship, but we did brilliantly gathering nearly £7 000 – nearly 40% more than expected!
Then came the biggest challenge – the British Weather! The forecast was warning us all of rain, mist and wind, but these are absolutely empty words until you really brave every element of it – and we did just that!
It took our team 27 hours and seven minutes to walk the whole 48km trail and it poured with rain for 27 hours and six minutes. Nature had a good laugh at us, as it stopped raining ONE minute before we crossed the finish line, when the sun finally came out – probably to make sure that we have finished indeed.
It was a very memorable weekend. We won’t forget waking up at 3 o’clock and going to bed at 2330, working together as a team, and I mean TEAM. We had two support ladies – driver Ranita and navigator Annette. Without them we would be nowhere
Did we all enjoy it? Well I believe we want to do it again next year, so I suppose the answer is – ENORMOUSLY.”
Date: 16/07/2011
Location: 24 Peaks Challenge
