On the weekend of 26th-27th June, myself and 5 colleagues from Site Electrical (Radcliffe) will be competing in the MEGAHIKE Challenge, a gruelling 50 mile hike across the Pennines to raise money for MedEquip4kids, a charity based here in the north west of England helping children in and out of hospital. Organised by Global Adventure Challenges the MEGAHIKE Challenge will start at approx 0400 Saturday 26/06/10 in Littleborough and takes in an arduous route accross the Pennines of Lancashire/West Yorkshire. The aim of the event is to complete the 50 mile course within 24 hours with an additional challenge - should we wish to accept it - of BEATING THE SUN (the days are longer at this time of year) which means completing the hike within 17-18 hours. The money raised is to be donated to MedEquip4kids, a worthy and deserved cause which helps to change the lives of poorly and sick children in the north west.

Our training for the event is well underway having recently completed a 21 mile section of the course in just over 6 hours. If our training continues as planned we hope to complete the course in around 18 hours!! Yeah right! Taking on a challenge is one thing...killing yourself in the process is something entirely different...however, you can be assured that we will give our all and whatever happens on the day (or week - we might get lost) a worthwhile charity will benefit from our blood, sweat and tears with a good laugh sprinkled in between.

As time progresses I'll up-date this page with mug shots of the offending (and offensive) parties, training up-dates and hopefully a few stories to keep you amused.

If you can help us achieve our target then please do. We are attending an information day on the 18th April for a full event briefing and hope to get a few tips on fundraising. So, if you see me or my compadres around town, wearing a t-shirt, a cheesy grin and carrying a bucket, chuck a few coppers in the bucket and cast me a withering look....I can take withering looks...i'm married.

I've no doubt that the 4 of us (plus the 2 support lads if they fancy it) will be touring the local pubs, buckets in hand looking suitably dubious and down trodden in the next few weeks and if you fancy a bit of a knees up and a beer whilst thinking about handing over some of your hard earned, HESTON (my rock band), will be playing at The Brook, Holcombe Brook, Bury on Saturday 29th May 2010. It's not a fundraising event but there will be a couple of odd looking characters (my team mates!) in MedEquip4kids t-shirts mooching around the audience making a nuisance of themselves with collecting tins and buckets. It will be a good evening....particularly if you like your favourite rock tunes murdered in a Bury accent....2 bands, no entrance fee, good beer, friendly atmosphere plus you get to gawp at the idiot on the bass making a fool of himself...AGAIN.

Thanks for supporting us...any donations that you make WILL make a difference to kids who need our help....plus it'll make me feel a bit better as me and the team kill ourselves walking up and down the hills preparing for this jaunt.

Up-dates will follow plus a few picks hopefully

Dont forget the gig...rock music may never be the same again!

***UPDATE 11/05/10***

A big big thank you to all those who have donated money so far...we are getting closer to our target every day so thanks for all you help

Saturday 08/05/10 - Mike, Dave and Gaz did the final 16.5 mile section of the course in 5 hours (including a pit stop for sarnies, coffee and a nice basmati rice mixed dish for Gaz's dog (tour leader for the day)). Who on earth feeds their dog Basmati Rice - except for Gaz. Answers on a postcard please. A nice easy leg stretcher of a walk which we're gonna need after the previous 33 and a bit miles. We chose this stretch as its likely we will be doing this in the dark/twilight with head torches so it made sense to recce it out beforehand. In saying that, we took a map and still got lost! The earlier sections should be fairly well populated (we can follow those who look like they know what they're doing) so we will tackle those nearer the time

Injuries:- Mike...nicotine withdrawal... Gaz....strained arms as the tour leader set a bruising pace (fuelled by his rice no doubt)....Dave...cockney accent suffering after spending a day with tough northeners....Steve....couldn't make it, his bursitis insisted that he spend the day in the pub chuckling quietly into a pint of Theakstons. Additional injury - Mikes pride.The other guys turned up decked out for a day in the Himalayas, carrying camel packs, gators, boots that cost more than my car and smothered in gortex, vaseline and mountineering attitude. ( The vaseline worries me boys - you said it was for chapped lips but I kept a safe distance anyway) Mike turned up in his work fleece (Site Electrical) - but perfectly adequate for the job, pennine proof combats (bargain at a tenner from Next) and clad head to foot in water absorbing, hyperthermia inducing cotton. Street cred destroyed but it WAS sunny. Trip to a reputable and affordable outdoor retailer urgently required.

***Update 26/05/10***

A nice easy leg stretcher of 26 miles is planned for Saturday 12/06/10 - the final long distance walk in our preperations. We will tackle the first half of the hike, starting at Littleborough Rugby Club and finishing in a pub in Hebden Bridge! In betweenst times, we are all doing our own Phys....Mikes biking and running up and down the stairs chasing the kids, Dave's running, a bit more running, hiking with his dog, hiking without his dog - the athlete of the team. Steve is nursing his leg and might be doing a bit but haven't asked him and Gaz is.....well, not too sure. He's told us he's been away in the Lakes for strenuous work outs and im SURE he has! Ha. Gig on Saturday 29/05/10 where members of the team will be bullying the locals for cash. Photos of said bullies to follow.

***02/07/10***

Job done!!

I'm writing this update almost a week after the event - i thought it safer this way as time heals the mind and body. If i'd written it the day after the hike, expletives would have ruled the day!

What a fantastic event. We arrived at the Rugby Club the night before to check in and have our kit checked. The rules stated that any hiker arriving without essential kit could be removed from the event. I didn't think Guinness was essential kit - important but not essential so I left it in the car for later. The place was alive with enthusiastic walking types and assorted characters. A quick glance at the assembled throng revealed a mix of competitors, some obviously up for it, some quite obviously not. These sorts of events throw together a lot of different people and you can usually spot the top teams a mile off.They look fit, dress the part and give off a kind of steely confidence more suited to hardened Ranulph Fiennes types than a group of mates doing a bit for charity. I wondered what sort of impression our group of hillbillys gave off! Ha, our plan was coming together from the off. Dress badly, look gormless, scratch frequently and put the rest of the pack off the scent before steaming into the lead. That was the plan anyway. After checking in and making a mental note to double the size of the insect repellant bottles in our packs - the place was crawling with midges and assorted nasties - we went home to get some rest before the off.

2 hours later we were back. I was knackered before I started but couldn't help getting drawn into the atmosphere of the event. The organisers were good and had obviously done this sort of thing a million times before. Quick check round to suss out the competition and OFF!!! Our headlong sprint came to a sudden stop 5 yards own the track as we ran into the back of the other 200 oodd competitors yomping down the same 3 yard wide start track. It took a good couple of miles for the pack to spread out and then we were off in earnest, tracking the M62 then across to our first checkpoint at Blackstone Edge some 5.74 miles away. The first mile or so was a little tense...would we do it, could we do it, were we fit enough, does my bum look big in these shorts etc etc but the tension slowly ebbed away as the legs relaxed a bit, the wintergreen burned in and we realised that hey, we are here for the duration so lets just get on with it. We burned into CP1 without a hiccup, checked in, re-fulled with water and energy bars (most tasty) and then straight out to CP2 at Hebden Bridge 8.83 miles away. The route took in some lovely scenery...Stoodley Pike, open expanses of moorland and every group we came across was in good spirits. That to me summed up the whole day. Its a team, and to a lesser extent an individual test but there was a great cameraderie between groups and  talking to various people confirmed that they had the same reservations, fears and expectations as ourselves. We were not alone. Plus, it was turning out to be a lovely day and as we headed out towards Hebden the skies cleared, the mozzies disappeared and the sun began to shine. Now then...sunshine in endurance events is a double edged sword. The plus points are...you don't get wet, its pleasant, the girls wear shorts !!. The negatives are you sweat and you burn so we would have to be careful. We reached CP2 at 0915ish....15 odd miles in 4 1/2 hours...things were looking good. The support guys were there on time, the sun was shining, the feet didn't feel too bad and there was a portaloo in a field! Doesn't get better than that i can tell you...especially a portaloo that overflows and floods your feet. Quick change of socks then off to the first Water Stop at Widdop Reservoir, 5.05 miles in the distance. Support teams cannot meet at water stops, usually because of their remote location. We checked in and had a sit down for 10 minutes. It was at this stage (19.62 miles in) that I heard the first rumours of contestants dropping out of the hike. The usual....blisters, heat stroke, lack of moral fibre (ha)...but it was getting extremely hot by this stage. Most people had invested in sun hats and headgear and smothered themselves in suntan lotion. Others had not, most notably our very own GAZ. He started the trek with his lifetime guarantee, totally indestructable, made of kangaroo arse, leather, Aussie, monster,best hat in the world hat. He took it off and left it with the support crew at Hebden compaining it was too heavy for his little head and it was getting all sweaty around the rim. Well, there's a reason it was getting sweaty gaz....it was sunny and HOT. I challenged him over the wisdom of leaving said head gear and Gaz, cheerful (clueless) as ever retorted...''Ah don't worry mate, it'll cloud over in a bit''. Famous last words cos it didnt. Suffice to say that Gaz was a sweaty sunburned mess for the rest of the day but all credit to him, he didn't moan...probably cos we'd have ragged him senseless if he had. Moving on. Widdop was the last time that any of us felt truly comfortable in this hike. Up to this point we were moving well across the hills, usually in twos (me and dave several hundred yards ahead of gaz and brooky....maybe Gaz was feeling the heat!) but always within touching distance and feeling good. The trek over from Widop to CP3 Ram Inn was a ball beaker through the full heat of mid-day up some monsterous hills. I can't speak for the other lads when I say this but for me, monotony had set in a bit as well. The pennines are a beautiful part of the world but when alls said and done they are hills and all hills look the same, just like all trees on the top of hills look the same as trees on the tops of other hills, and all reservoirs......well.....you get the picture. I suppose this was the mental part of the challenge and on this section the mantra ''you can't crack me I'm a rubber duck'' chimed around my head as well as the song ''don't kill your team mates, their children will hate you for it''....ha! We eventually dragged ourselves into CP3 and not before time. The sun was beginning to try my patience and I had stopped sweating - not a good sign. Now then, the Ram Inn is a nice little boozer in something or other Chapel, can't quite remember and the best thing about this CP was that it was the only designated food stop on the entire circuit and as such guaranteed a nice sit down for more than 5 minutes. The support teams were there en masse and the set up of the place was impressive. The charity chaps were there serving out food and good wishes, support crews with back slaps and sarcasm (not the first time i heard ''Bloody 'ell Batesy...you look sh***ed out''), the St Johns Ambulance crews were doing their best to patch up some nasty looking feet and all this in a country pub beer garden populated by 'normal' folk out for a quiet drink and a meal with the inlaws and assorted children and pets. The pasta was washed down with copious of water, lucozade, re-hydrate when all i really wanted as a pint of Stella, a packet of bacon frazzles and a fag. The fag was definitely off the menu (don't smoke any more) but mugging a nearby local clutching a lager was a definite possibility! As we feasted on carbohydrates and sensible liquids my eyes drifted to a nearby tent where some kindly volunteers were doling out massages to the parts that ached most. I mentally checked myself....legs, yeah they feel ok, feet, yeah not too bad, shoulders....fine....DAMN....no excuse for a massage! The only time i can get legitimately felt up in public with full consent from the wife and I feel fine.....sometimes life is cruel.

Fully re-fuelled we set of for CP4 Waterfoot (7.48 miles). We were over half way now and I think we all sensed that we could not only complete the challenge but also in a reasonably quick time...ha (more of that later). Then....boom! The biggest hill so far...5 degrees from vertical, sun blazing down, full bellies...nightmare. Straight from the checkpoint we were struggling, and not the only ones judging by the bodies strewn all over the place. The organisers must have know this, they must have thought to themselves now then, lets see how they like this little nugget. We topped the hill and for most of the next 7 miles or so the pace dropped substantially. Our worst fears were being confirmed. Before we started the hike we reasoned that the first 25 miles would be physical and the last half a mental challege and we were right. 25 miles is a long way on its own but coupled with the extreme heat, tiredness from the previous day ( i had only had 2 hours sleep in the previous 48 hours having flown back from holiday and driven back from Luton Airport straight to the friday night check in) and the general adrenaline of the event we were tired, the feet were beginning to burn (thankfully not with blisters) and general fatigue was setting in. This leg was tough and took a lot longer than we expected. I dont have exact check in times but i'm sure we took twice as long as we expected over this leg. The only saving grace was that after the initial 'death by hill' the route into Waterfoot was relatively flat with a gentlish incline down hill with the odd hill chucked in to bugger up any rhythym we had developed. We finally arrived at CP4 Waterfoor. The banter on the way was that maybe we should check straight in and out to make up some time. Personally I think that was a bit of bravado. The support lads had the chairs out and the realisation that we only had 16 miles meant that a sit down was in order. The back of the support car was littered with gear, sweatly kit and squashed sarnies. I managed to locate my flask and had a nice drink of lukewarm coffee whilst doctoring my feet -the dreaded blisters had at last reared their heads, not too bad but large enough to take a pin and a plaster. Refuelled and plastered we hit Cowpe moor. We had walked this last section in our build up a few weeks previously so we know what to expect which was no bad thing though it didn't stop the legs and chest burning. This section took us to our last water stop at Knacks Lane - 5.69 miles - and we hit the tops and continued down toward s the WS as the sun slipped gracefully below the horizon (nice eh). Every step of this leg was hard work. I thought my feet were going to split open at times and though we'd walked this section before I didn't enjoy it as much as I thought I would. We eventually arrived at the last WS just in time to don the headlights and flick on the torches. Night had arrived. A quick sit down then straight on with it. Without doubt this was the worst 6miles of the entire hike. It was blacker than a witches tit on the tops, the signing wasn't as clear as it could have been and as we stumbled on over the hills towards Watergrove Reservoir although we know we had broken the back of the hike none of us were enjoying it any more. In fact tempers were beginning to fray...at anything! It was dark (annoying), we were tired (annoying) Gaz's knees had imploded (annoying for Gaz) Dave plodded on ahead and disappeared into the blackness (potentially life threatening for him...the rest of us were not amused), in fact the words ''screw this...beam me up'' could be heard echoing across the moors..... We eventually arrived at the last checkpoint...Watergrove Res. We were knackered. The support lads had nipped out to Macdonalds and bought us a nice hot brew and whilst we sipped it in the darkness, batting away mossies and toying with the idea of throwing Dave into the reservoir (it was close for a while but we kissed and made up) we contemplated chucking the hike map out of the window and plotting a straight line course back to the finish line. Gaz was adamant that this was what he was going to do (with his knees I couldn't blame him to be honest) as he suspected more climbs to come. We persuaded him to get his head right and just get on with it and to his credit he did. Poor guy could only limp at this stage. We stuck to the route - thankfully - and plodded on . The last section was really a mileage filler aroundthe streets of Littleborough and around the lake. We really didn't care at this stage as we just wanted the damned thing to end as soon as possible. And end it did. We entered the Rugby Club at 3.25am Sunday 27th June....22 hours 50 minutes after leaving it. As we walked down the lane we heard clapping and didn't think it was anything to do with us. It turned out that it was as the guys manning the finishing straight could see our head torches (and hear our cursing no doubt). We staggered as a team over the finishing line hardly believing we had finished. Medals were thrown over our necks and certificates thrust at us whilst pictures were taken but I wasn't really up for a celebration. All I wanted was a beer and a bath.

The results:-

55 teams started

25 teams finished as a team (the same members)

30 teams had members drop out along the route

We finished 31/55 overall but 23rd team

In hindsight, we went off too fast. It was hard to pace this event as it was over such a long distance but I can remember particular sections where we were haring along. If we had taken it just a little easlier in these sections and taken 5 minutes less at the checkpoints our finishing position would have been significantly better I'm certain. However, mute point really. We all enjoyed it, all enjoyed finishing it and I for one would do it again. Its a great event and a real character builder. Anyone who contemplates doing it needs their head testing....those who finish it are better for doing it...can't say more really

Thanks for sponsoring us.