Thanks for visiting our fundraising page

All,

Firstly, thanks to all those that sponsored us. Your sponsorship was much appreciated, and certainly acted as a great motivator.

Secondly, a massive thank you to our support team (Dan, Katy, Tara and Tara’s friend Tracey). They were fantastic at both ferrying us around and ensuring we were well fed, hydrated and most importantly had a pint at the end of the challenge!

If you don’t fancy reading about the challenge, the shortened version is that it was hard. If you do, see below:

The challenge was, essentially, divided into four sections. A 33 mile mountain bike, and a 47 mile walk divided into 16, 12, and a 19 mile section. The terrain was hilly to say the least, and took in both scenic views of the Gower – and had us walking through quagmires.

The mountain bike started at 07.30, and started with a massive hill. Simon was shattered after about 2 ½ minutes which didn’t bode well for the remainder of the challenge. Within the first 30 minutes, a guy fell off his bike at speed on another massive hill and took Dan with him (he clearly couldn’t keep up with the pace Dan was setting and tried to take him out).  The guy dislocated his shoulder; our team was made of sterner stuff, and Dan was instantaneously ready to get back in the race. I had the misfortune of a puncture half-way round, James “kwik-fit” Phang had it changed in an instant.

The first section of the walk was calamitous. Someone changed one of the direction arrows and we ended up taking a massive detour. We came across two other guys who had done the same thing.  One ran off to find a sign, and on the way back tripped and dislocated his shoulder and cut his head open...it was the same guy that came off his bike only an hour earlier. Leon administered first-aid to the ungrateful saboteur.  The detour and act of compassion saw us lose 90minutes and go from 3rd to last place. Very de-motivating.

The second section of the walk was the best of the day. The views over the Gower were incredible. We were moving at warp speed, and overtook a plethora of teams. The banter was flowing and we were all in great spirits. By the end of this section, we’d being going for about 14 hours; a lot of teams called it a day at this point, however the tired limbs and blistered feet didn’t deter Team Maximuscle – we were in the zone! We cracked on with the final 19 mile section.

The organisers wanted each team to have a guide for the last section as it was full of quagmires, stiles, fallen trees, hills – all in complete darkness. Our guide didn’t even last 30 seconds; Leon asked if he minded being called “Big-Dog,” it transpired that he did....never mind. We were on our way, with or without “Big-Dog.” This was, by far, the hardest section both mentally and physically, but we all pulled through.

The finish line was a great feeling, Team Maximuscle were the second team home at about 04.30, 21 hours after we’d started. We were a little fatigued to say the least! We were greeted by goody bags and a pint courtesy of our support team and a fry-up. Then, it was bed time!

Who’s up for this next year!? http://www.lakedistrictpeaks.co.uk/24-peaks.html

Over the weekend of 11/12th October, some crazy people will be embarking on an equally crazy challenge of mountain biking 30 miles through Carmarthenshire, then running/hiking 45 miles along the Gower Peninsula.

The motivator behind this craziness is to raise money for ‘Maggie’s Centres.’ Maggie’s Centres are aiming to fund five new cancer caring centres at major cancer hospitals around the UK. The centres provide practical, emotional and psychological support to those diagnosed with Cancer.

Maximuscle are entering a team of four into this event:

Leon ‘glutton for endurance challenge punishment’ Hughes
James ‘cycles to other countries in his spare time’ Phang
Dan ‘have you seen me mountain bike’ Rees
Simon ‘do I look like I’m built for endurance’ Jurkiw

So far, most of the feedback received has revolved around “blisters;” “blood;” “hallucinations” and other equally attractive propositions. The time allowed is 24 hours, however we’re aiming to complete in around 16 hours.

If you would like to sponsor us for this worthy cause please follow the link below:

Donating through Justgiving is quick, easy and totally secure. It’s also the most efficient way to sponsor us: Maggie's Centres gets your money faster and, if you’re a UK taxpayer, Justgiving makes sure 25% in Gift Aid, plus a 3% supplement, are added to your donation.


Leon, James, Dan & Simon