Day we all played a Peaky blinder
This week I took on the Yorkshire Three Peaks Challenge with friends Ian and Paul who, like me, have been sadly touched by prostate cancer.
The challenge is to complete a 24-mile hike mainly off road with an ascent of 5,200ft going up and down the three highest peaks in Yorkshire.
Getting together the night before, in a delightful rented cottage in Horton-in-ribblesdale, we were all as excited as kids on Christmas Eve This was something we had planned for months. It was not just about friends in adversity getting together though – as we wanted to spread awareness for prostate cancer, raise a few quid for charity and prove that you can undertake challenges even when the odds are against you.
Luckily, the weather was fine with sun and clouds seeing us off. We were soon striding up the steep-sided Pen-y-ghent and, on the summit, renamed it after Paul. Then it was down the other side, past the towering Ribblehead viaduct, before our ascent of Whernside, renaming that peak after me. By now our feet were starting to get sore and the initial adrenalin-fuelled energy had long gone.
From the frying pan into the fire, as we attacked the 2,372ft Ingleborough and renamed that after Ian.
It wasn’t all plain sailing though, as it was still a good few miles with some rocky sections before we finally stepped foot back into our cottage with huge grins on our faces. We didn’t set any records for speed, but nonetheless went as fast as three fifty-something men touched by prostate cancer could.
You may have wondered why we renamed each peak after one of us. Well, that’s because we have vowed that the survivor(s), in time to come, go up that peak again as a testament to a friendship borne out of adversity.
I had handmade some trophies for each of us with the outline of the peaks, in the hope that they stay on our respective mantelpieces to remind us of the day we spent proving that challenges can be done with a modicum of fitness and a huge dollop of willpower.
Why don’t you take on a challenge with likeminded people to make a difference for others and prove to yourself what can be done?