Unrelated?

[Canary ben 0]

Hi All,This is most deffinitly not football related so i appologise in advance,At the begining of next year (hopefully) i am doing a charity walk from norwich to Scotland in aid of cancer reasearch and diabetes UK. Dont worry im not asking you all for money although sponsorship is more than welcome (ill give any one the web address if you want it) However i neeed to get in shape and was wondering if there are any gyms out there that would let me use there facilities free of charge and there name could get a mention in the press article of possibly have there name on the walking shirt or something like that. Anyone.?????......Cheers guysBen(and sorry again to all those people that hate the un-football related posts) (i am usually one of those people as well)

[Evil Monkey 52]

A noble feat indeed! Where in Scotland are you finishing and what route

are you taking? I ask out of interest simply as a fellow walker (though

my speciality is hills rather than long distances!) [:S]

Can''t answer your gym question though, wrong city! [:)]

[Canary ben 0]

Hi evil monkey,If its deffinitly scotland then i will go to edinborough (361 miles 9 days) but there is a likely hood i may only go as far as newcastle (251 miles 7 days)Thanks for you''re interest, Ben

[Lincs CR 0]

Hi Ben, sadly I am unable to give you a Gym name however wouldn''t mind if you could PM me the web address for this charity walk, sounds like a very good thing that you have gotten involved in and maybe a little sponsorship won''t hurt :)

Depending on how many of you need to use the Gym, I imagine if you went around to a few and showed them documentation and an agreement to have them as a central advertisement on shirts etc they might allow you to use their facilities at off-peak hours free of charge. May be worth a try :)

[Mr.Carrow 394]

[quote user="Evil Monkey"]A noble feat indeed! Where in Scotland are you finishing and what route are you taking? I ask out of interest simply as a fellow walker (though my speciality is hills rather than long distances!) [:S]

Can''t answer your gym question though, wrong city! [:)]

[/quote]

Good taste in music AND a hiker [Y]

My ex started walking from Lands End to John `O Groats a couple of weeks ago, got 40 miles then booked a flight to Spain `cos she was "sick of getting soaked every half hour"!

Good luck Ben- you won`t forget it in a hurry!

[Evil Monkey 52]

[quote user="Mr.Carrow"]Good taste in music AND a hiker [Y]

My ex started walking from Lands End to John `O Groats a couple of

weeks ago, got 40 miles then booked a flight to Spain `cos she was

"sick of getting soaked every half hour"!

Good luck Ben- you won`t forget it in a hurry!

[/quote]

I''ll whisper is, because its extremely geeky, although I must point out that I took up the position under duress.... I run the Hiking Club here at MMU... [:$]

Some of us did the 3 Peaks in May, or I should probably say attempted. 

We started off at about 5pm on Ben Nevis in glorious sunshine and

searing heat.  The views from the snow-covered summit were simply

breathtaking and are unlikely to be matched in this country again

unless we''re extremely lucky with the weather. We finally reach the

bottom some 5 and a half hours later with the sun only just

disappearing over the horizon for good.  We didn''t even need

torches. 

Scafell Pike the next morning was a different proposition as the lack

of sleep and the tiredness took hold.  The sun still shone but the

winds up there were up to 70mph gusts and I have to say it very nearly

bested me, but I finally managed to get back to me feet and

summit. 

Then we had the easiest of the three, Snowdon - done it loads of times

and we were headed up the Miner''s Track, which is a piece of

p*ss.  We were tired but felt that the psychological blocks were

now done with and it was only a matter of time......................

.....................we never reached the summit! The weather had

finally closed in and the sunshine was now replaced by torrential rain,

whilst the 70mph winds remained.  As we ascended nonetheless the

reports from those coming down were simple - "don''t go up there." 

Strong, sturdy characters looked shaken as they told us about being

blown clean off their feet at the top of the Pyg Track.  We

finally encountered a few of our group near the end of the Pyg Track,

coming back down, one of whom is known simply as a "mentalist". 

He was a broken man and when someone who quite happily dangles

themselves over dangerous ridges tells you its simply not worth it, you

take note.  We turned back, happy that we''d at least got this far

and that the factor stopping us from completing it wasn''t our own

bodies but the uncontrollable elements.  At least that''s how we

eased our mind... [:)]

Some of our lot unwisely decided to make their descent via the long and

tedious Llanberis Path and still hadn''t come down when we were happily

munching through our celebratory fry-ups in the crowded Pete''s Eats in

the town.  They eventually got down, wrapped in emergency foil

jackets and, whilst they themselves had not required rescuing, had been

driven down by Mountain Rescue simply because they wanted everyone off

the mountain post-haste.  It was later reported that it had been a

record afternoon for the rescue service, in terms of number of calls

per hour.

I''m not entirely sure why I''ve related this tale, I just got carried

away! I''ll probably be re-attempting the challenge next year, so look

out for a sponsorship thread then....[;)]

[Mr.Carrow 394]

Top stuff Evil [Y].  Geeky to me is some pasty stay-at-home agrophobic- i don`t see what`s geeky about having legs like tree-trunks and throwing yourself up mountains!

Went up Ben Nevis in April, it was a clear day but we left a bit late and passed loads of people on the way down.  My girlfriend turned back at the snowline but i decided to scramble to the top despite the fact that it was clouding up.  Anyway, by the time i got to the top i could see menacing clouds not far away and heavy snow falling on other peaks and i was the ONLY person up there.....Stunning views but got a bit freaked out thinking "They probably knew something i don`t", so ended up tobogganing down to the snowline on my arse rather than get caught on my own in a blizzard......[:D]

Must admit the weather really puts me off outdoorsy stuff in this country so i usually go abroad these days- mostly Spain but also Turkey, Bulgaria, Poland, Morroco and Norway in recent years. Love it.  Hopefully going to have some late sunny hiking in Croatia next month.....[:)]

[Evil Monkey 52]

[quote user="Mr.Carrow"]

Stunning views but got a bit freaked out

thinking "They probably knew something i don`t", so ended up

tobogganing down to the snowline on my arse rather than get caught on

my own in a blizzard......[:D]

[/quote]

That was the most fun bit of Nevis for me... one of our group had

struggled up but we''d stuck by him, whilst others had run off ahead,

which is fair enough in a challenge like that.  We were desperate,

on the way down, to make up some ground as we knew they''d be taking it

easy on the descent.  We literally ran to the snow line and

chucked ourselves down on our arses, it was brilliant, although I did

get snow up my unsealed sleeves! We cut out most of the zig-zags and

took a more direct route, just bombing down over the grass and rocks in

a, more or less, straight line.  We were even jogging at some

stages, so desperate were we to prove a point (the ones who were off

ahead are a bit competitive and had tried to play it as a competition

rather than a challenge and we wanted to wipe off a certain smug grin

by getting back quicker than they expected... we did!).

Never walked abroad, unforunately, its a relatively new obsession of

mine (within the last 3 years) but I''m totally hooked.  Do most of

my walking in either the Lakes or Wales, with a few in the Peaks

too.  Took my girls up their first hill in Grizedale forest whilst

on holiday the other week, its only 314m high but an achievement for

two 5 year olds!  Intend to introduce them to a lot more over the

years, if they''re game!

A mate of mine from Pakistan, who has now moved back, and I are

planning on one day trekking from Pakistan to Everest Base Camp, not

walking the entire way but just doing as much as possible and taking in

the culture of Pakistan, India and finally Nepal along the way. 

But that''s one for the distant future.....

[Canary ben 0]

well with just two or three posts you''ve managed to make what im doing look easy!!! lol

[Evil Monkey 52]

[quote user="Canary ben"]well with just two or three posts you''ve managed to make what im doing look easy!!! lol[/quote]

Not a chance mate, what you''re doing will be tough for sure! Its

obviously more of a stamina event, but the biggest thing I found on the

3 Peaks that may affect you most is the mental barriers! Being able to

pick yourself up and carry on when all you want to do is lay on the

floor and die quietly; knowing that you''ve got miles and miles of

pounding the roads ahead of you.  Luckily, you''re doing the walk

in the good old UK so the sights, sounds and people you''ll see and meet

along the way should be enough to keep your spirits up![:)]

[Mr.Carrow 394]

[quote user="Canary ben"]well with just two or three posts you''ve managed to make what im doing look easy!!! lol
[/quote]

The thing is, when you go up a mountain you`ve got the downhill bit to look forward too!  You`re going to be on the flat alot, which can be a bit of a slog but i`m sure you`ll handle it [;)].

Evil, you`ve got to do that trip IMO.  I did the Annapurna Circuit four years ago, got up to 5,500m, got altitude sickness, carried on anyway, had stomach problems virtually the whole 7 weeks i was in Nepal but loved it anyway......Trouble is, once you`ve recovered from something like that you just want to go and do it all again......[:)]

[E I E I E I O 0]

[;)][quote user="Mr.Carrow"]

Top stuff Evil [Y].  Geeky to me is some pasty stay-at-home agrophobic- i don`t see what`s geeky about having legs like tree-trunks and throwing yourself up mountains!

Went up Ben Nevis in April, it was a clear day but we left a bit late and passed loads of people on the way down.  My girlfriend turned back at the snowline but i decided to scramble to the top despite the fact that it was clouding up.  Anyway, by the time i got to the top i could see menacing clouds not far away and heavy snow falling on other peaks and i was the ONLY person up there.....Stunning views but got a bit freaked out thinking "They probably knew something i don`t", so ended up tobogganing down to the snowline on my arse rather than get caught on my own in a blizzard......[:D]

Must admit the weather really puts me off outdoorsy stuff in this country so i usually go abroad these days- mostly Spain but also Turkey, Bulgaria, Poland, Morroco and Norway in recent years. Love it.  Hopefully going to have some late sunny hiking in Croatia next month.....

[/quote]Good Luck Ben!There are 11 other people from England attempting to climb a mountain in croatia in a few hours time!![:D][:P]Sure if you speak to them somebody will offer there assistance???!!!

[missing in action? 0]

Ben

email me, i will talk to my gym (fitness first) and see what their stance is on it.

also. how have you planned your route? as im planning to walk to london for the same charity as you and im unaware of any sites that would make my planning easier, or am i going to have to get lots of maps...

[Canary ben 0]

Im doing the whole get lots of maps thingLolINCASE ANY ONE IS INTERESTED THE WEBSITE IS             http://ben98155.webs.com     Some times there is a random error aperaing on fire box, just hit try again. Feed back from poeple would really be appreciatedBen

[Canary ben 0]

After numerous errors and problems the site has now officialy changed to http://www.freewebs.com/benscharitywalk  cheers guys and sorry