Thanks for taking the time to visit my JustGiving page.

We have survived our adventure and you can get the gory details at:

http://hebadventure.blogspot.com/2010/09/bordeaux-is-roughly-as-far.html

There is still time to sponsor our efforts however so please support us!

 

Between July 4th and 9th 2010, two friends and I will be adventure racing over the land, sea and a little "air" of the wildest parts of the Outer Hebrides of Scotland. We will be hill running, mountain biking, road biking and swimming to traverse the fastest route over a course of up to 700km, from the island of Barra in the South to the Butt of Lewis at the northernmost tip of the island chain.

The three intrepid (or possibly painfully naive) members of our team are: Angela Heeley, Tom Fraser and myself, James Hamilton.

Physically and logistically there are plenty of mountains to climb. For example, in recent years the run sections alone have covered 170km and 10,000m height gain over the 6 days. The kit list would make most outdoor store's order catalogue look pretty spartan and includes 2 mountain bikes, 2 road bikes, racing wetsuits, a library of maps and a carload of survival and camping gear.

Having "all the gear and no idea" won't be enough to complete the race. Navigating the dizzy heights of the Clisham horseshoe will demand more than some shiny new running shoes. Innovation and strategic decision making are all part of time saving in the race as the route is not cast in stone. In fact, whether it's possible to circumnavigate Hebridean bogs all week is doubtful!

The race organisers have been unable to attract sufficient funding this year to provide the safety net of race marshalls and insurance so teams will need to photograph themselves at remote checkpoints to provide evidence that they were in the right place at the right time! We may also find ourselves on the cameras of the BBC as all competitors are joining Ben Fogle and the film crew on Taransay mid week to celebrate 10 years since the programme "Castaway" was made there.

It all sounds a formidable but incredible experience, especially as we are all adventure racing "rookies". However, motivation to keep going will come from more than just energy gels, bloody mindedness and a swarm of midges bearing down on us. One of the major reasons for all this Scottish foolhardiness is to help fund the development of clinical trials to repair damaged spinal tissue. This in turn could restore limb function in paralysed patients or even give voluntary control of breathing back to patients with very high spinal injuries.

Trust PA is a charity which strives to help accomplish this aim of making spinal injury treatable rather than a precursor to a lifetime of dependence or palliative care. The charity was established in 2002 in memory of Paul-Andre Blundell who sadly died from complications of a spinal cord injury sustained whilst playing rugby.

"PA" was a close friend of mine from the age of 11, when we met at Old Swinford Hospital school, until his death aged 26. He was a gifted sportsman with exceptional drive and endurance and his natural charisma motivated those around him, whatever the situation.

His athleticism combined well with a love for the outdoors. On a holiday with friends in the north west coast of Scotland in 2001, PA and I spent some time gazing at the Hebrides from the mainland. This Hebridean challenge therefore, with it's demands for extreme tenacity and team cameraderie, seemed to me to be the perfect tribute to PA as a means of raising money for the charity in his name.

The memory of PA and his phenomenal drive for a challenge of this kind is a strong inspiration for me. Knowing that our efforts in July will have raised a worthy sum towards repairing spinal cord injury will be the ultimate reward .

A huge thank you to all those who have helped us on the way so far, whether financially or in terms of encouragement and logistical support. Any contributions you feel you can make to Trust PA will be gratefully received and give us a lift during training and racing. 

Spinal injury is an ever present threat in all walks of life including horse riding, motor sport, skiing, contact sports and all the disciplines of adventure racing. Sadly accidents also happen at work and on the road. (The average age at which patients sustain spinal cord injuries is 19). The fear of spinal injuries should not prevent life being lived to the full but with help from Trust PA there is a real possibility that these patients could be given back a long life of independence. Please look at www.trustpa.org to fully appreciate how your donation will help.

 

Now you know where the money is going, please sponsor some of the many hours of calorie and wind burn ahead of us!

 

Thank you,

 

James

£628.97 including gift aid has already been generously donated prior to the construction of this page. A massive thank you to: Grandma Hemingway, Jo, Mark and Soph, Don, Matt and Carol, Jackie, Marilyn and Roland, Clare and Ed, Pat, Ant and Steffi, Sal, the White Family, Lorna and Geoff, Jarrod and Danielle, Ben and Em and Vicky. Your donations are already helping towards repair of spinal injury.

 

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