This October, Quantum Pharmaceutical will be reaching new fundraising heights by sending 9 staff members on the Kilimanjaro Challenge to raise money for Willow Burn Hospice.
This is the last group training session before the big trip and the team felt it would be a good idea to tackle the Derwent Walk endurance trek again. The team were full of high spirits even though they were all tired from fundraising in Newcastle City Centre the night before. The weather kept dry throughout the day and the team took the time to discuss their kit, what people have already packed and what they still need to buy. The group chatted about the last minute arrangements, their hopes and their concerns. Team leader, Emma Treeby delivered a moral boosting team talk and has this to share with our supporters, ‘I could tell that everyone within the team are incredibly excited but also nervous of the unknown. We’ve never experiences high altitude, or walking for 7 days straight but we know we are going to gain an experience that will provide us memories for the rest of our lives and that we are going to be helping support the amazing cause that is Willow Burn Hospice.’ Emma Treeby Tonight the team have hit the high spots of Newcastle City Centre, dressed in charity t-shirts and shaking collection pots, the team joined the revellers out having fun and encouraged them to part with one drinks worth of cash for our worthy cause. This week the team decided to try an endurance challenge along the Derwent Walk Country Park, Derwentside. The Derwent Country Park is a mixture of woodlands, meadows, wetlands, riverside and reclaimed industrial estates all linked by the Derwent Walk. The walk is the track-bed of the old Derwent Valley Railway. It is 11 miles long and follows the Derwent Valley between Swalwell in the north and Consett in the south. The team set off for the 20 mile round trip, although the walk is predominantly flat it still gave us a bit of a challenge and will help towards our Kilimanjaro climb as we need to walk quite a distance before we even reach the bottom of Mount Kilimanjaro. ‘I really enjoyed the walk, we were able to have a good chat about Kilimanjaro and what our hopes and fears are. It was a 20 mile walk which took about 5 hours as we were walking a quite a fast pace throughout to help us prepare for Kili.’ Peter Tomlinson The team are hitting the pubs and clubs of Newcastle City Centre to help raise funds soon. High Cup Nick is a classic U shaped valley, high on the western flanks of the North Pennines Area of Outstanding natural Beauty. ‘We were all very excited to see the amazing valley when we reached the top, but, when we got there all we could see was this, dense cloud. This was really disappointing and typical of our British weather! However, even though the weather was miserable we all kept each other smiling and giggling along the way. The team spirit is really high now with just over 6 weeks to go until the real challenge begins.’ Emma Treeby, Team Leader Leianne and Peter couldn’t help but moan about the weather too. ‘Due to the bad weather the hike felt a lot longer that it was. Everyone in the team tried very hard to boost our spirits and provide encouragement along the way.’ Leianne Bowman Our Training Diary
Sunday 9th October 2011
Saturday 8th October 2011
Saturday 17th September 2011
Saturday 3rd September 2011
Further training updates can be found at http://www.quantumpharma.co.uk/?page_id=576
