Three peaks challenge scuppered by dodgy tummies

2:00pm Wednesday 27th August 2008

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INTREPID walkers from Swindon were devastated not to complete the Three-Peaks Challenge after a stomach bug scuppered their hopes.

The mystery virus struck down three of the seven volunteers, who all attend Swindon Family Church in Westlea.

They had completed Ben Nevis in Scotland in a quickfire six hours.

But as they were travelling to Scafell Pike in the Lake District by minibus, ahead of their ascent of Snowdon in their 24-hour challenge, some members of the team felt unwell.

Nevertheless, they are still hoping to collect £2,000 sponsorship from family, friends and colleagues and donate it to Swindon Food Bank – a charity which gives emergency food packages to those who need them. The disappointed team will try to complete the challenge next year.

“It was a real shame as we were all up for it,” said accounts manager Alex Pollock, 32, from Cheney Manor.

“I don’t know what it was but three of us had dodgy stomachs.

“It was quite disheartening especially when he had completed Ben Nevis so quickly.

“There was seven of us, aged between 23 and 36.

“We trained quite a bit and did lots of walking and cycling.

“We’ll definitely give it a another go sometime next year.”

The whole route consisted of 26 miles of clambering up and down the mountains with 1,159 miles of driving. Due to the intensive nature of the walks a team of three support personnel accompanied the walkers to drive the minibus and prepare the vast quantities of food needed to sustain the volunteers. The team had been training for the last couple of months with regular walks of around 10 to 12 miles.

Money raised will go to the worthwhile Swindon cause.

The charity helps all kinds of people, especially in the current financial environment.

Project manager Richard Belsham said: “There has been a recent upsurge in the numbers of people that have been coming to us for help.

“Any money raised through the three-peaks will go towards the purchase of a van to transport the food across the town.”

For information on the charity, visit www.swindonfoodbank.co.uk.