Thank you to those who have donated and those who have supported us along the way. What intended to be a 24-hour trek turned into a 38-hour mission. Words can’t do it justice but we’ll give it a shot:

The first three stages were done in the blistering heat and took us 12 hours. By 8.pm we were all suffering from serious blisters and complete physical exhaustion. Motivated by a quick morale boost from Tom’s parents, we began Stage 4 –the most difficult stage of the trek from what we were told.

We got lost in the middle of the night, costing us an extra hour of time/energy, and climbed ‘Ma On Shan’ in a thunderstorm with two weak head-torches. The SMS messages about the incoming donations kept us going. We trekked on through the night and reached our second pit stop after 24 hours of trekking, having only reached the 50km mark. After a quick rest we moved on.

At Stage 7 we reached by far the hottest point during the trek, which coincided with the steepest climb (Needle Hill) of the trek. It was a case of mind over matter. Running severely low on water we then began to climb Tai Mo Shan (highest peak in HK). The combination of heat and dehydration led to Hamza’s collapse on Stage 8. We dug deep to push ourselves to the end of Stage 8 – our last pit stop.

Met by Luke Berry and a support crew with 2 stages left and severe sleep deprivation and hallucinations, we were determined to finish strongly. We eventually crossed the finish line 38 hours and 30 minutes after setting off.

This was as much a mental challenge as a physical one and wouldn’t have been possible without everyone’s support. This was done purely to raise awareness and funds for one of the biggest natural disasters of our lifetime. Although it pushed us to our limits, at the end of it all we were able to go home to our warm beds and full fridges. Many people in Pakistan at the moment are fighting what we fought and much worse, on a daily basis. With continued support from all of us hopefully we can bring the same comfort to their lives that we all have.