CheapTents.com Outdoor Gear Blog

Onto the Antarctic Plateau

On 11/11/08 Adam Wilton and Gavin Booth set off on an expedition to the South Pole. Adam and Gavin are well past 88 degrees now. Man hauling their sleds for a staggering 10.5 hours per day they are becoming tired and hungry. They are losing weight and feeling the cold.

We are now properly on the plateaux though, so flatter terrain. Both glad to tick off another day.

Their height on the plateau is about 2700 meters, 1000 meters of which they climbed in the past week. Fortunately there is only another 135 meters left for them to climb to the South Pole.

In terms of distance, they have covered over 900 km and now have less than 200 km to go.

They are hoping to reach the South Pole by New Year’s day.

Adam and Gavin are hoping to raise £250,000 to help save Robert Falcon Scott’s hut.

If you enjoyed this post, make sure you subscribe to our RSS feed!

• South Pole Expedition to Save Scott’s Hut
• British South Pole Expedition Update
• British South Pole Expedition Update 2

South Pole Expedition Pushes Past 86.5 Degrees

On Friday 12th November, Adam Wilton and Gavin Booth passed the 86.5 degree line on their way to the South Pole. Adam and Gavin have been walking across the Antarctic for nearly five weeks now. They estimate that they will reach the South Pole on New Year’s Day.

With the snow softer and sastrugi less extreme, they have been able to ski instead of walk. This has meant using different muscles and has given a much needed rest to the muscles that are used for walking. They are pulling all of their expedition gear, including their tent and their food, on sleds without any help from dogs or snow-mobiles.

They are both in good spirits as they climb up to the polar plateaux.

We are celebrating every degree now with some extra food..on monday we had half a cake each (which was the size of a brick).

Food for Thought and Snow for Dinner

Adam and Gavin have provided their daily routine on their live update website, which I have reproduced below.

Whilst you are all gearing up for the Christmas party season, spare a thought for us …

7.15am -wake and reluctantly get ready.
Eat breakfast, do personal duties, sort kit and take down camp.
before 9.30am be on the move, starting our day’s man hauling.

No day is easy, in fact they are all very hard. We do a 10hr shift, with breaks every hour..for water and a bit of food. but not long enough to get too cold (it is still -20C before wind chill). For the last 2hrs we have a 1minute break at the half hour-so we can push on. At the end we are both exhausted and another step not possible. The sled weight may be reducing as we eat our rations, but the fatigue in legs gets worse. Even if we are both incredibly tired at 6hrs and bored of the white white white landscape, we always push on for the full day, things can get better.. After finishing, we then have to set up camp. It could be very windy.

7.30pm Get tent up and kit from sleds into tent by 8.
8.00pm call Patriot Hills with our position.
8.30pm one of us will start to melt snow in the vestibule. This will take up to 2hrs for all our water. The snow is incredibly dry. The other will have the chance to repair any equipment or himself! and perhaps call home or post a dispatch. During this time we will both start to eat (first meal-we are now eating 2, as we have a hard week of altitude gain) and rehydrate.

10.30pm water finished, and by 11pm time for second meal.
11pm record our expedition video diary, reflect on the day.

12am to sleep..although this will be broken up, as we will wake a number of times no matter how tired. it is hot in tent at night in down sleeping bags, and bright with 24hr sun. We are both suffering from lack of proper sleep.
The next day we do it all again…for 50 days. This is what we have to do to make it. No matter how tired or how cold. A test of mind, body and soul.

Shopping Centre or South Pole?

Where would you rather be? Your local shopping centre, battling the crowds trying to find those perfect Christmas presents…

Shopping Centre. Source: Flickr by MacBites

…or the South Pole, freezing cold with only your expedition partner to get on your nerves? Click on the “comments” link below and let us know!

South Pole. Source: Flickr by Dav1d

Perhaps the best answer is to be in The Lake District, North Wales or The Scottish Highlands and buy all your Christmas Presents and outdoor gear online, using your mobile phone or laptop!

Adam Wilton

Adam was born in London and 30 years old. He works as an investment banker at Kaupthing Bank in London.

Adam’s previous expeditions and challenges include:

Marathon of Britain 2005 (52 miles, 2 days)
Marathon des Sables 2004 (140 miles)
Guadarun, Guadeloupe 2005 (80 miles)
Mont Blanc Ultra 2005 (100 miles non-stop)
Greenland Expedition 2007 (8 first ascents; >200 km ice cap travel)
World Long Course Duathlon Championships 2008.

Adam and Gavin are hoping to raise £250,000 to help save Robert Falcon Scott’s hut.

British South Pole Expedition Updates

British South Pole Expedition 25th November
British South Pole Expedition Update 1 2nd December
British South Pole Expedition Update 2 8th December

If you enjoyed this post, make sure you subscribe to our RSS feed!

• British South Pole Expedition Update 2
• British South Pole Expedition Update 4
• South Pole Expedition to Save Scott’s Hut

The very first iROC™ will take place on the 18th & 19th of April 2009, where participants can

race around a spectacularly beautiful part of the Durham Dales.  You can read more about the iRoc Race here.

iRoc is the first race of it’s kind by Inov8 footwear:

iROC™ will be an innovative and exciting adventure racing weekend in the Durham Dales featuring six different races that will include mountain biking, running and orienteering. Points will be awarded for places and there will be a £2,000 prize pot for the overall winners across all six races!

iROC will be held at Eastgate in the Durham Dales at a brilliant new venue, which has never had public access before, let alone an adventure race! This venue is a former cement works site that is surrounded by stunning moorland. The site itself is largely hidden from view but is complete with a large quarry, steep hillsides with complex contour features, forest and a perfect event village location at the bottom of the valley.

iRoc Race Prices / Costs

There will be a simple charging structure that will include race entry, camping, parking and access to the Saturday night entertainment. You can choose to race as an individual or as a team of 3. If you enter as a team your individual scores in each race will be added together to create a team score.

December Special Offer

Until the end of December, you can pay just £50 (rather than £70) to compete in all 6 races (or £10 for each) as an individual, or £130 (rather than £200) for a team!  That’s a whole lot of pocket change saved! And considering the winning team wins £2,000 it’s certainly worth giving some thought!

All you need to do is enter online!

iRoc Race Sponsors

If you enjoyed this post, make sure you subscribe to our RSS feed!

• iRoc Race: Run, Cycle and Orienteer on Durham Downs
• Burn off a few Christmas Calories! Go running!
• CheapTents.com enter the David Staff Fell Race!

What is orienteering?

According to British Orienteering, the National Governing Body for the sport of orienteering in the United Kingdom,

Orienteering is an exciting outdoor adventure sport which takes place in varying terrain over various distances. The aim is to navigate in sequence between a set of control points marked on a unique orienteering map and decide the best route to complete the course in the quickest time. The standard orienteering distance is known as a ‘classic or long distance’ race however modernisation of the sport has introduced the ‘middle distance’ race and ‘sprint distance’ race.

Orienteering can take place over any kind of terrain, urban or rural, from your local park or forest to remote wilderness, on tarmac or open countryside.

Orienteering Control Flag. Source: Flikcr by Glutnix

Control points are normally marked with a special white and red flag. Attached to the flag is a hole punch which is used to stamp a hole in a competitor’s record card, confirming that the competitor has been to that point. Electronic devises are also used for the purpose.

What Outdoor Gear do I need for Orienteering?

This will depend upon the exact nature of the orienteering race that you are taking part it. Generally speaking you will need cross-country running shoes or trainers, shorts or lycra tights and T-shirt or baselayer. For orienteering races in the open country you might wish to take a lightweight waterproof, windproof or softshell jacket.

You will also need a map and compass. It is also a good idea to take an emergency whistle and a high energy snack.

For more information on choosing outdoor gear see our trail running advice page.

Are there any Organised Orienteering Events?

Yes, there are many local orienteering clubs whose contact details can be obtained from the British Orienteering website. In addition to organised events, local orienteering clubs may be able to provide orienteering maps for permanent orienteering courses in your area.

National Orienteering Events

The 2009 British Orienteering Long Championships and Relay Championships will take place in the New Forest on 28 February / 1 March 2009. Entries for these events are now open. These events are organised by British Orienteering and more information can found on the British Orienteering Championships website.

If you enjoyed this post, make sure you subscribe to our RSS feed!

• iRoc Race: Run, Cycle and Orienteer on Durham Downs
• iRoc Race Special Offer!
• CheapTents.com enter the David Staff Fell Race!

Half Way to the South Pole

On 11/11/08 Adam Wilton and Gavin Booth set off on an expedition to the South Pole. They have now reached the half way point, the 85 degree line.

The sun has been out and the wind is not strong, but the ambient temperature is still a bone chilling minus 19 degrees Celsius.

Adam and Gavin have no supply lines. They have with them everything that they need to survive the expedition, which they intend to complete on New Year’s Day 2009, when they arrive at the South Pole. Previously the Sastrugi were making the going hard. Now the snow has become soft skiing is impossible, so Adam and Gavin are walking, pulling their sleds behind them.

We both agree that this has been toughest thing we have ever done-nothing compares. Every day we put in 9 hours hard effort hauling in extreme conditions.

Since our previous British South Pole expedition update, the view for Adam and Gavin has improved: they can now see the Thiel Mountains on the horizon. This makes a change from seeing nothing but snow in every direction!

By the end of the week they will start the difficult ascent onto the Antarctic plateau. Increasing their day to 9.5 hours they will be able to start eating their larger ration bags of 6500 calories. So far they have been eating 5000+calories a day. Their food rations are made up of porridge, nuts, chocolate, flapjacks, kendal mint cake etc, protein recovery drinks, dehydrated meals and lots of butter.

Adam and Gavin are hoping to raise £250,000 to help save Robert Falcon Scott’s hut.

Robert Falcon Scott's Antarctic Hut. Source: www.ukaht.org

Gavin Booth

Gavin was born in Aberdeen and is 33 years old. When he is not in the South Pole he works for GE Real Estate in London. His hobby is adventuring: ultra marathons, road cycling and climbing mountains.

Gavin’s previous expeditions and challenges include:

Caledonian Challenge 2002, 2003 (54 miles)
Marathon of Britain 2005 (52 miles, 2 days)
Marathon des Sables 2004 (140 miles)
Yukon Arctic Ultra 2005 (100 miles non-stop)
Guadarun, Guadeloupe 2005 (80 miles)
Mont Blanc Ultra 2005 (100 miles non-stop)
Greenland Expedition 2007 (8 first ascents; >200 km ice cap travel)

More information about Adam, Gavin and their expedition can be found on their British South Pole expedition website.

If you enjoyed this post, make sure you subscribe to our RSS feed!

• British South Pole Expedition Update 3
• British South Pole Expedition Update 4
• South Pole Expedition to Save Scott’s Hut

I’m subscribed to Runners World mailing list so this morning I got a message gently reminding me, along with many subscribers, that I need to do more running - the cheek!  It’s not as if I stopped running a month ago or anything, OK, that’s not completely true, but for good reasons thank you very much [bad back]!!

Christmas Santa Race, Source: Flickr, Hippomug

Well if anyone’s interested in running over Christmas, there’s quite a large number available over Christmas.  Maybe check-out one of these:

Runs & Races over the Christmas Period!

ULVERSTON CHRISTMAS PUDDING 10K RUN
December 7 (Sun)
Ulverston, Cumbria
Closing date: December 5
Just a few gentle slopes make this out-and-back road race a great event for beginners and time-conscious club runners alike
YOUR REGION - NEXT 6 WEEKS

THE REGULAR IRREGULAR ROUND 22 RUN
December 13 (Sat)
Huddersfield, West Yorkshire
Closing date: December 12
Choose from loops of four, six and 11 miles navigating hilly rural terrain - you’ll be well rewarded with refreshments at the end of each loop

THE 25TH LONGRIDGE 7 RUN
December 14 (Sun)
Preston, Lancashire
Closing date: December 7
The hills just seem to keep on coming in this demanding seven-miler through the Ribble Valley

STAFFORDSHIRE MOORLANDS XMAS CRACKER 8 RUN
December 21 (Sun)
Leek, Staffordshire
Closing date: December 18
For one last pre-Christmas race, try this testing rural course over the Roaches. Festive fun comes courtesy of the regulars’ dedication to fancy dress!

NORTH PIER BOXING DAY 10K RUN
December 26 (Fri)
Blackpool, Lancashire
Limber up after a day on the couch with this new 10K along a flat, traffic-free stretch of Blackpool’s colourful Golden Mile

AYHOPE CHRISTMAS SKYLINE 16K RUN
December 28 (Sun)
Bishop Auckland, Durham
Swap the sofa for the northern skies with this steep out-and-back fell run. 16K is sure to see off any lurking Christmas pudding!

CLEETHORPES NEW YEAR’S DAY 10K RUN
January 1 (Thu)
Cleethorpes, Lincolnshire
Chase away the last of the 2008 cobwebs in this bracing coastal fixture with definite PB potential

THE NEW HANGOVER HIKE 20 RUN
January 1 (Thu)
Dewsbury, West Yorkshire
RW says: Whether it takes the 10-, 15- or 20-mile route to clear your head, this varied multi-terrain ramble does what it says on the tin

THE HEBDEN 22 RUN
January 3 (Sat)
Mytholmroyd, West Yorkshire
RW says: Stollen and beef-dripping sandwiches are just two of the treats in store at checkpoints along this 22-mile trail race through the heart of Yorkshire

THE SANDS NEW YEAR CHASE 6 RUN
January 4 (Sun)
Grange-over-Sands, Cumbria
Inspiring new race whose hilly six-mile course explores its stunning setting in the Yorkshire Dales

GARSTANG 10K RUN
January 11 (Sun)
Garstang, Lancashire
The promise of bacon butties at the finish is just one of the factors that marks out this predominantly flat 10K through country villages.

Are you planning on going running over Christmas or the New Year?  Where are you going?  Trying to keep yourself fit over Christmas or simply enjoying escaping the family?!

If you enjoyed this post, make sure you subscribe to our RSS feed!

• Christmas and New Year Opening Times
• iRoc Race Special Offer!
• Tom Buckley Charity Trek across the UK

You Can’t Have Our Mud!

You may remember seeing Welsh Tourist Board adverts on television during the summer. The adverts featured a man extolling the many virtues of taking a holiday in Wales, he finished up by telling us that under no circumstances were we to take away any Welsh mud. Its “good mud” he proclaimed.

You Can Keep Your Mud!

Guilty! Source: Flickr by foxypar4

On Monday the BBC reported that “mud contaminated with sheep droppings may have caused 161 mountain bikers to fall ill”, according to a report by The National Public Health Service for Wales (NPHSW).

The report was produced after it was found that a number of mountain bikers who entered the Builth Wells Mountain Biking Marathon had subsequently suffered from vomiting and diarrhoea.

The report recommended that in future the mountain bike course should avoid passing through fields with sheep droppings and that participants should eat out of wrappers to help prevent accidentally ingesting harmful bacteria.

If you enjoyed this post, make sure you subscribe to our RSS feed!

• Mountain Bothies - a fun way to enjoy the outdoors!
• The Original Mountain Marathon: flood, gales and stranded runners…
• When a Welsh Hill becomes a Mountain

Here at CheapTents.com, we love it when people share their stories, write reviews, pass on outdoor industry news for us to then share, and what not, but we also like to raise the profile of outdoor sports athletes for sponsorship purposes and even for their charitable causes.  For this reason, make sure you contact us for more information.

Guys that did this just last week, are now featuring on our blog, and we will be following their progress over the coming year.  And we couldn’t be more happy to support them! Here’s what they’re getting up to…

The UK Everest Challenge email

As an outdoor shop we like a whole lot of outdoor sports, mountain scenery and the associated activities with the wilderness, camping and of course a big challenge.  So, when an email from Darren Edwards, part of the UK Everest Challenge, landed in our inbox, we thought why not, and anyway, it’s for chaarity!

We decided to help promote Darren’s and Bryn’s efforts because of their organisation to succeed…they were very well motivated, knew how to achieve their goals, what they would have to put themsevles through, why they were doing it and were clearly very focussed:

Transforming our bodies in to running, scrambling and hiking endurance
machines in only ten months time is a daily challenge all on its own
[I've lost 2 stone in two months as it is!!].

Everest is a long way away

Have you ever wanted to climb Everest?  Thought it’s a long way to go for an 8,848m (29,029 ft) climb, when there’s a whole lot of mountains in the UK already…add a few of those together and you could bag quite a few thousand metres of mountain anyway!  Well Darren and Bryn had just this very thought!  they are focusing themselves on taking on some of the toughest routes, highest peaks and spread right across the England, Scotland and Northern Ireland.

The peak of Mount Everest is 8,848 meters (29,029 ft) above sea level and is one of the worlds most breathtaking regions. Climbing Everest takes many thousands of pounds in permits, training, equipment, insurance and travelling expenses. There’s a great article here, about the cost of an Everest climb.

So would it not make more sense to give all the money to charity rather than spend it on climbing the greatest peak? and this is where the idea for a UK based Everest Charity Challenge was born.

This makes a whole lot of sense to us, and hopefully it does to you too.  But what does the challenge entail?

So what exactly is the UK Everest Challenge?

2 guys: Darren Edwards and Bryn Posey

2 packs: 25kg backpacks

5 days: in just 265 days time!

10 peaks: see the list below

Darren and Bryn will be doing this mammoth trek up-and-down 10 peaks, with a 1 man support ‘team’, to take the 3 Peaks Challenge one step further, by taking on some of the UK’s largest peaks in just 5 days.  This means a whole lot of travel , trekking and motivation to take on such a mean feat!

UK Everest Challenge: The Mountains

The UK obviously doesn’t have an Everest laying about but it does have some of the most breath-taking scenery available anywhere in the world (in my humble opinion anyway!).

These are the mountains that Darren and bryn are going to climb to raise money for their charities…

So that means 4 in the Lakes, 2 in Snowdonia, 1 in Brecon Beacons, 2 in Scotland and 1 in Northern Ireland…even traveling between all these places would be a massive achievement in such little time!

The hard work and motivation in their preparations

Darren and Bryn are clearly very motivated in their efforts to help raise money for their charities, and are making multiple sacrifices, and it’s really difficult to sum-up their motivation better than through this statement:

Where every other word mentioned in the news seems to be about ‘credit crunch’ or once again drumming it in to us that we all need to ‘tightening up our financial belts’, it probably feels the wrong climate to raise money for any worthy causes. But if we all thought like that nothing would ever get done!

Personally I’ve done some house keeping of my own to help me fund this challenge, less beer, less hair cuts and I’m buying a bike to save on my travel bills, this small, but growing list goes on.

Both Bryn and myself are passionately committed to our charity challenge. It will be very rewarding come the end of August 2009, when we look back over our achievements and the money we’ll be able to give to charity. I guess we’ll have a warm, humble but proud feeling inside, that only comes from when you really push yourself to do something for others far less fortunate than yourself.

Darren Edwards

Personally, I think their dedication to their goals is what will make them succeed in spectacular fashion.

The UK Everest Challenge Charities

The charities that have been selected for this challenge are by no means ‘randomly selected’, they have been chosen on the grounds that they are both personal to Darren and Bryn and also far-reaching in regards to the money that they hope to raise…£8,848 (or more!).  by supporting the UK Everest Challenge, you will be supporting:

…certainly worthy of such an incredible effort.

Support UK EC

It’s all the little things people do that make a difference, so maybe you could forward this link to other people that you know who might be interested in supporting these guys, or maybe post about it on your blog or website and proudly wear the “I’m supporting the UK Everest Challenge” badge on your website…anything you can do to support these guys would be appreciated.

If you would like to support the UK Everest Challenge by making a donation, follow the link through to their site for more details.  And don’t forget to stay tuned for ongoing updates from the UK Everest Challenge team on the run up to the events!

Share

We love it when people share their interests and contribute, if you would like to feature on the CheapTents.com blog, then please feel free to contact us, or share your comments below…

If you enjoyed this post, make sure you subscribe to our RSS feed!

• Ice Climbing in London?
• Armed Forces Exercise Khumbu Challenge, Nepal
• Running the Marathon des Sables for Charity

Two-Man Expedition to Geographic South Pole

Earlier this month Adam Wilton and Gavin Booth set off on a two man expedition to the geographic South Pole. Their journey started about a week ago at Hercules Inlet and will cover a distance of 1,130 km. They will climb almost 3,000 m on their expedition and will be heading into winds of up to 55 knots. With no support or re-supply they will each be pulling sleds of 120 kg with all their expedition equipment. Average Antarctic temperatures will be from - 25 °C to -40 °C.

Campaign to Save Robert Falcon Scott’s Hut

Robert Falcon Scott's Antarctic Hut. Source: www.ukaht.org

Adam and Gavin are hoping to raise £250,000 to help save Robert Falcon Scott’s hut. Located at Cape Evans, the hut dates back from Robert Falcon Scott’s ill fated Terra Nova expedition to the South Pole. The hut is of great historic value but is unfortunately deteriorating in the harsh weather conditions of the Antarctic. Preserving the hut and other Antarctic artefacts is a huge and expensive task, taken on by the UK Antarctic Heritage Trust. Any donations made will be doubled as a match funding pledge has been set up through the generosity of a British Charitable Foundation .

Frozen Sleeping Bags and Mitts

Adam and Gavin have been walking for nearly two weeks now. The weather has been harsh: snow storms and cold, biting winds. They have been waking up to find their sleeping bags and mitts frozen. It has been hard going, nevertheless they have reported that they are making good progress. Further progress reports on the South Pole expedition can be found on their British South Pole Expedition website. Adam and Gavin aim to reach the South Pole by New Year’s day 2009. If they have any energy left by that time they might consider celebrating by doing the crampon dance. Good luck guys!

If you enjoyed this post, make sure you subscribe to our RSS feed!

• British South Pole Expedition Update 4
• British South Pole Expedition Update
• British South Pole Expedition Update 2

A short while ago, we put out a blog post offering to provide support to outdoor sports people looking for sponsorship. We’ve had a couple of emails lately from people looking seriously at 2009 and wanting to put a big fat stamp on the achieving something truly great…whilst helping raise funds for charities.

Our first-up is Andrew McMaster, a medical student from Manchester University, who’s currently in training for the Marathon des Sables - an ultramarathon race across the Sahara desert…you can read more about the Marathon des Sables here, but here is Andrew’s first post for the CheapTents.com blog, on what will be a phenomenal achievement.

Marathon des Sables, not for the feint hearted - literally

Running the dunes, Source runjun.blogspot.com

Fancy a week the sun with a slight difference? Enjoy hot temperatures and active holidays? Do you have masochistic tendencies? Then the Marathon Des Sables is for you. This ultra marathon is regarded as the toughest foot race in the world, consisting of running 155 miles in 6 days across the Sahara desert in temperatures of up to 55 degrees; it is not for the faint hearted – literally.

As if the distance and temperature were not challenging enough, each participant must be totally self-sufficient during the marathon. They must carry all the clothing, food and other supplies they deem necessary to survive the week. Marathon organizers provide the runners with a nine litres of water for each day, and at night, participants sleep on the ground in communal Berber tents.

Marathon des Sables Route

Marathon des Sables, Saharan Desert

The route of the event remains a secret until the day before the marathon begins (as if you would be tempted to try it out beforehand anyway!). Typically, it takes place in the stunningly-beautiful desert to the east or south of the town of Ouarzazate. This arid terrain offers a blister-inducing variety of landscapes, including rocky hills, dried mud flats and sand dunes. Daytime temperatures have been known to climb to a scorching 55 degrees celsius and sandstorms are very common.

The marathon is run in five stages ranging from 18 to 52 miles in length, with extensive route maps given to participants at the start of the week. The cruellest stage is the fourth day, a double marathon segment which begins long before sunrise with a significant amount of runners not returning until the next morning. The racing is tightly monitored, with all participants required to check in at numerous “control points” along the way.

Stepping-up to a new challenge: Preparation

My preparations to take part in this event started in June this year. Initial administration included obtaining a medical certificate from my GP and providing results from an ECG test.

On filling out the entry form, I was slightly alarmed to read a section concerning the “corpse repatriation fee.”

Undertaking research, it is also concerning to read about previous participants’ experience - Mauro Prosperi, a police officer from Rome got lost in a sandstorm during the 1994 race. He wandered several hundred kilometres off course and survived for the next nine days on boiled urine and dead bats. Mauro lost over 30 pounds during his ordeal but he has since returned to Morocco to race two more times.

The fact that only two people have died while participating in the Marathon inspires some confidence in me!

Stepping-up to a new challenge

However, it is slightly comforting to know that I’m not the only person who is crazy enough to sign up for this torture test. Last year, 683 men and women from roughly thirty countries stepped up to the challenge. A team of 40 doctors are also present.

Although I have undertaken a number of marathons over the past four years, this challenge is certainly requiring organised training. Currently I am running around 50 miles a week in addition to participating in a number of UK-based road races over 40 miles. By January, I will have to be fit enough to run 80 miles a week.

To prepare further as the event draws near in 2009 I will be doing two double marathons to make sure that I am match fit.

Luckily I have not suffered any injuries to date but I am careful to keep regular sessions with a great physio team at Disley Fountain square clinic.

About St Anne’s Charity, Manchester, UK

I am undertaking this challenge in March 2009 to raise money for a local independent charity in Manchester, St Ann’s Hospice which is one of the largest adult hospices in the UK with 60 in-patient beds. Although cancer related conditions account for 95% of all hospice admissions, St Ann’s services are available to patients with any life-threatening illness and 42% of patients admitted to St Ann’s Hospice return home after treatment.

Fundraising Targets

St Ann’s Hospice needs to raise £16,000 every day through voluntary contributions to offer its wide range of services. In total it costs £8.75 million each year to run the Hospice, of which only 35% is received from government funding. It is the support of the local community that enables St Ann’s Hospice to continue providing the highest standards of care to patients, families and carers.

I am hoping to reach my fundraising target of £4000 through various activities before my departure to the Moroccan Sahara on the 27th March 2009. The charity is giving me a real incentive to focus on the goal in mind as I carry on through the pain of the cold winter months…

Please visit my online fundraising website at www.justgiving.com/desertmarathon2009 or feel free to email me at andrew.mcmaster@manchester.ac.uk if you would like to support me in any way with raising money for St Ann’s Hospice through this event.

Written by Andrew McMaster, Marathon des Sables runner 2009

A message from CheapTents.com

We wish Andrew all the very best in his training, preparations and the race itself!

We are happy to support people such as Andrew, who have such drive and determination to achieve so much.  Good luck with your training and we look forward to the next update!

If you would like to share your stories, experiences and raise awareness to your fundraising efforts, then we are more than happy to support your efforts in doing so.

If you enjoyed this post, make sure you subscribe to our RSS feed!

• The Marathon Des Sables Race, 2009
• British South Pole Expedition Update 2
• Tom Buckley Charity Trek across the UK