Reaching Their Peak – No Thanks to Callum!
Back in October, we spoke to Shane from Dreams beds, who was captain of a corporate challenge team made up of adventurous souls doing the National Three Peaks challenge - summiting Britain’s highest three peaks in just 24 hours! Despite facing the worst that Storm Callum could throw at them, all 14 of them competed the challenge which is an incredible achievement (even one of the challenge instructors commented on how rare it is for a large group to all complete it!).
They also raised over £12,000 for The Fostering Network which is outstanding and made it all the more worth it for the team during those tougher moments of darkness and driving rain. We caught up with Shane as he reflected a month on from this epic adventure…
Q: What was the hardest part of the challenge?
Walking during Storm Callum made it tougher....quite a few of us were slipping coming down Ben Nevis. The floods from the sheer volume of rain meant we had wet clothing and boots but we had another two mountains to climb before the challenge ended!
Q: What did you do to pass the time while you were climbing?
I think I did what I do best...chatting and keeping people motivated. There was a lot of motivational ‘you can do this!’ being said to each other. The funniest thing was trying to keep count how many times our colleague ‘the Champ’ fell over!
Q: What was the most useful thing you did to train?
I would say both physically and mentally, climbing Snowdon a month before the Three Peaks was my best preparation. The experience gave me a greater insight of what to expect and the feeling when I got to the bottom of Snowdon during the challenge was ‘Well, I’ve climbed you before so I’m going to do it again for real!’. For me, it took a lot of the uncertainty out about what to expect.
Q: What did you do to fundraise?
As my fundraising efforts over the last two years have now eclipsed £13,000, I’m proud and honoured to say that the majority of the same family, friends and colleagues continued to sponsor me for the Three Peaks to make sure I reached my £1,000 target for this event. Set up your fundraising page early and ask everyone you know to support you. Consider setting up separate events to help you fund your challenge – pub quizzes, raffles, dress up/down days at work all help to bring in the pennies towards that all-important total.
Q: What would you say to encourage others to sign up to a challenge?
During life’s journey, nobody really knows how the middle section of “living” is going to go. One day we’ll all need the help and support from someone we probably don’t even know. My advice is to do what you can while you can, to help other people. Living isn’t a practice run - make the most of life and live it!
If Shane’s story has inspired you to challenge yourself, then The Fostering Network’s fundraising team can help you to take the next step in looking at what it is you’d like to do! They can help you through your fundraising journey and can guide you with practical advice on whatever you choose to do. Get in touch on 020 7620 8403 or email fundraising@fostering.net and begin your adventure!
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