Making the Most out of Life

10 Peaks 2012

2011-11-10T22:46:00.005Z

Yippee.. I'm registered for the 10 Peak 2012 challenge!

10 highest lake district peaks - 5600m of ascent - 73kms - all in 24 hours!

This is step 8 of my 12 steps to Everest challenge for Macmillan Cancer Support and as far as I know is the toughest one day challenge in the Macmillan calender. Best I brush up on my navigation skills before then.

Find out all about it and if you're feeling brave, register at:- http://www.10peaks.com/

Step 2 - The Great South Run - Done!

2011-11-07T19:01:00.000Z

Goodness... how fast a week can go when you have 2 little munchkins to look after!!

Well, I had hoped to post a couple of Sundays ago whilst we were still in London and I was still on a high from completing The Great South Run in Portsmouth, but a few beers that evening and a busy day of travelling back to Jersey the following day meant I kinda didn't get around to it.

My very first 10 miler went very well and apart from a minor slump around 8 miles I romped home in a rather pleasing 1:28:29. It was a wonderful experience with an awesome turnout of over 600 runners for Macmillan whose support pre and post race as well as around the course was just awesome. It feels good to have completed Step 2 of my 12 challenges and I now have to step up the training over winter in preparation for the next challenge - the Brighton Marathon!! ouch ;o)

Thanks very much to those of you who have already donated to my JustGiving page. No matter how small it will make a huge difference to those affected by Cancer.

Cheerio for now

Step 2 - The Great South Run - 2 days to go!!

2011-10-28T14:03:00.006+01:00

So, here I am with 2 days to go until I take on the second challenge of 12 on route to Everest Base Camp. This time it's the Great South Run and my first 10 mile running event. How do I feel..? very good! it has to be said. I have put the training mileage in and although I have yet to surpass the 10 mile mark, I did manage to clock up a rather annoying 9.99 training run one evening. I've been sticking to a runners diet and have managed to drop a few pounds in the process which I'm rather chuffed about. So all in all, I'm very pleased with my progress and go in to Sunday with a happy head on.

With over 600 runners taking part for Macmillan Cancer Support it's going to be an amazing experience and I for one will feel very proud to be wearing the green top and representing such an amazing charity.

Be sure to look out for me on channel 5 on Sunday 30th from 10.30am. My running number is Orange 4416.

Take a look at what else I have planned and make a donation through my blog or the following JustGiving link:- http://www.justgiving.com/12StepstoEverest

Busy month

2011-10-01T23:02:00.001+01:00

So it's been a busy month or so what with moving house, a trip to France with the family and a trip to Weymouth for my level 1 kayak coach qualification. Moving house was hectic to say the least but we're back in town again (St Helier) so life has suddenly become a whole lot easier for Kate and her work and me and the twins for our increasing social calender.

Been working on my '12 Steps to Everest challenge' for Macmillan and although it's not set in stone I have a list that will test me to the max whilst raising hopefully a lot of dosh for a seriously wonderful charity. Next up on the list is the Bupa Great South Run in Portsmouth at the end of October. I'm built for climbing mountains not running so I have been hammering the treadmill in the hope that I will start to like it!

Speaking of Macmillan Cancer Support, we have just had the The World's Biggest Coffee Morning here in Jersey which is a yearly event that is doing wonders for raising money and awareness for those affected by cancer today. The twins and I had a superb morning helping out on the main shopping street in Jersey and I hope lots of money was raised.

Another update soon, here's my fundraising link if you're feeling generous:- http://www.justgiving.com/12StepstoEverest

A new challenge

2011-07-20T23:17:00.002+01:00

So I think it's fair to say that a lot's happened since I last posted on here!

Most importantly, on July 30th last year, I became a very proud father to our two beautiful children, Thomas and Amélie who have most certainly changed my life, all for the better. Second most importantly, when the babies were 10 weeks old, I completed a long held ambition and stood on the roof of Africa at the summit of Mount Kilimanjaro. For all of you who very generously donated money, your donations kept me going during all the difficult climbs and my final sponsorship total was £3900.

Raising money for such a fantastic charity as Macmillan and completing challenges like Kilimanjaro is fairly addictive so this year I've decided to push myself even further and build on my fundraising total. My new goal is to complete 12 physical challenges over the next 18 months culminating in a trek to Everest base camp in March 2013. More information about the challenges is on my new JustGiving page as well as details of how to donate, my new overall target is £5000 sponsorship. As always anything you give will be very much appreciated and will support all the fantastic work that Macmillan does. I've already completed the first challenge which was a tough 48.1 mile hike around Jersey's coastline in force 7 winds and pouring rain. The next one on the list is the 70 mile Wayfarers Walk which I plan to do all in one go (i.e. without sleep!).

Regularly updates to follow.

Long overdue...!

2010-05-22T21:15:00.007+01:00

Hi everyone,

It’s been way too long since I updated this, lots has happened since the start of the new year and I can’t believe that my Kili climb is now less than 5 months away.

My training has been going really well, the highlight was a trip over to the UK at Easter to do the 3 peaks (Snowdon, Scarfell Pike and Ben Nevis). Snow, Ice and freezing fog stopped me getting to the summit of Snowdon but we did manage the other two plus 3 Wainwright fells (Lingmell, Illgill Head & Whin Rigg) and had a great time, a big hello to my fellow climbers Paul, Kiwi Dave Moore, English Dave Moore and Kinga. Next challenge is the Jersey Itex round the island walk – 48 miles of hard graft. It’ll be my third year in a row so hoping to get a really good time.

[Pics to be posted very soon]

I’m also over the moon with the kindness of my sponsors – some unbelievably generous donations mean that I’m now at a magnificent 87% of my target – only £385 to go, the end is in sight. Big thanks as always to everyone who’s donated – all for a very good cause.

On the personal side, the twins are officially due on the 29th August although likely to arrive a bit sooner than that. At the 20 week scan they seemed pretty sure that they were a boy and a girl but last week weren’t so sure so we’ll see! Can’t wait to meet them both, trying to fit in as much sleep as possible between now and then!

That’s all for now, will be much better at updating this in the future.. promise ;o)

Cheers for now
Nick

Total Accumulated Training Distance : (on its way)

Happy New Year!

2010-01-04T19:37:00.000Z

Hi everyone,

It's been a while since I last did a post so a quick update from me. Back in Jersey now after a great Christmas & New Year in London. I managed to fit in two days of training which consisted of 40 miles of the London capital ring, for those of you who do not know this is a 75 mile circular route around the suburbs of London. I had hoped to do more but a combination of short daylight hours, useless London transport and a few too many mince pies meant I have to return to finish it off.

A quick update on my fundraising which thanks to a very generous donation today (thanks Stevo!) is currently standing at £1459.20, 49% of my total target of £3000. Many thanks again to all of you who have contributed so far and if anyone else would like to donate please feel free!

Next planned training trip is the three UK peaks in April over a week with friends Paul, Dave, Kinga & Kiwi. Also hoping to meet my Kili climbing buddies in May for a weekend training in Snowdonia, this does depend on the logistics of getting from Jersey but I'm sure I will manage it.

Cheerio for now
Nick

Total Accumulated Training Distance : 107.4 Miles

Force 10 from accross the Channel

2009-11-14T22:23:00.015Z

Wow.. what a day it was to go walking. When the weather forecast said strong winds I never expected 80 - 90mph! I had been looking forward all week to spending Saturday walking 20 miles of the Jersey coastline and a severe weather warning was not going to stop me. Only one thing for it, on with the thermals and take the line of most resistance and take the winds head on. 6 hours later mother nature spat me out with a sand battered wind swept face and I dragged myself to the nearest pub for a well earned pint of Best. Job done!!

Total Accumulated Training Distance : 67.4 Miles

Cakes!

2009-11-01T19:44:00.000Z

I really appreciate all the help that I'm getting from friends and family with my fundraising and recently my mother-in-law took part in Macmillan's World's Biggest Coffee Morning and raised a whopping £166! I only wish I'd been there to sample some of the delicious cakes.......Thanks Mrs H!

Heading west from Poole..

2009-10-12T18:48:00.003+01:00

Well my first big training trip is now complete.....and I can certainly feel it in my aching muscles!

Friday 9th October - got the ferry from Jersey to Weymouth after work then arrived late at the B&B about 11.30pm. Straight to bed for me.

Saturday 10th October - alarm went off at 6am and I was out the door and at the station for the 6.50 train to Poole followed by a bus ride to the Sandbanks chain ferry and the start of the South West Coastal Path. 630 miles stood between me and Minehead (the end of the path) but my aim for the day was 34 miles. The sun was out and I felt on top form. 7 miles of walking brought me to Swanage (by way of a naturists' beach!) and a chance to have a cup of tea and a jam doughnut, so far so good although the terrain was already a little testing. It was time to put the ipod on, head down and start ticking the miles off and by late afternoon I'd got to Kimmeridge Bay and had clocked up 21 miles. I was treated to the most amazing sunset which was also a sign that darkness would be upon me very soon and it was time for navigation by headlamp! The beautiful sights that had kept me company all day had now given way to a blanket of stars and noises of the night...I have to admit to being a bit freaked out especially as my headlamp kept picking up various pairs of eyes in the darkness. A gruelling walk followed and with much relief I finally hobbled into the campsite at Osmington Mills at just after 11pm. I was absolutely shattered. The tent was up and I was tucked up in my sleeping bag and fast asleep by 11.30.

Sunday 11th October - the challenge for the day was to make the ferry from Weymouth at 10am. I woke up at 5.30am to find that I was the only guest at the campsite so had a shower and set off at about 6ish. Compared to the day before, the walk down into Weymouth Bay was a breeze and with only 5 miles to go I made the ferry, and a nice fry up on board, in plenty of time.

It was an extremely rewarding 39 miles and I can't wait to go back and do the next stage which will hopefully be in November.

One year tomorrow!

2009-10-08T23:00:00.000+01:00

All packed for my weekend training trip to start the South West coastal path - I'll be getting the ferry over to Poole then attempting to walk to Weymouth via a campsite on Saturday night, hopefully completing a distance of about 40 miles. This is my first bit of major training for Kili so I'm looking forward to getting stuck in. I'll post some photos on my return.

Can't believe in exactly one year tomorrow I will be on my way to Tanzania!

A great weekend

2009-09-27T21:34:00.000+01:00

Another gorgeous weekend in Jersey, made the most of it as we had friends (Rob and Nicky Everett) over from the UK by going on a long walk from Corbiere in the South-West corner of Jersey along the coast to St Aubin then back to Corbiere following the old WW2 railway route. Here's a picture of Kate, Nicky and me with Corbiere lighthouse in the background.

We walked about 10 miles in total with some important stops for lunch at the Crab Shack in St Brelades (http://www.crabshackjersey.co.uk/) and a well-earned pint at the Portelet pub.

Two weeks to go before I start the South-West coastal path walk, can't wait.....

Enter the dragons

2009-09-21T20:08:00.004+01:00

What a cracking day it was on Saturday, the sun was beating down spirits were high and there were more than a few who had decided that 10am was not to early to crack open a cold beer to ready themselves for what lay ahead. For Saturday was the annual Jersey dragon boat tournement and everyone was up for it. It was time for rival companies to battle it out on the water rather then the boardroom and as the company I work for had not put together a crew this year I wangled my way on to a rival firms boat to wage paddle war against Jersey's best.

14 boats and 56 teams meant it was going to be a long day but all we needed to do to get in to the final was to get within the top ten best times of the day. Well we gave it our all and managed to scrape in to the final in ninth place.

With some of the teams bettering our best time by 10 seconds or more we knew 1st place would be well out of reach so we just went for it and managed to finish in what we started... ninth!! not bad in a field of 56.

A surpise in the post...

2009-09-17T20:04:00.004+01:00

Finally received my two collection boxes this morning and I couldn't wait to get them shipped off. One is going in the Stratford Haven in Nottingham which is my sister's pub and the other is going to the Griffin in Carlisle which is run by my good friend Paul Hepper. Fingers crossed they will bring in lots of donations.

Back from holiday.....and next training trip booked

2009-09-16T19:41:00.000+01:00

Hi everyone

Just got back from a fastastic two week holiday to New York to see the US Open followed by a New England road trip, loved every minute of it. Back to work today so I've cheered myself up by booking my next training trip which will be in October. I will taking the ferry from Jersey to Poole then walking the first part of the South West coast path to Weymouth to catch the ferry back. Because of the ferry times this will mean walking 38 miles in one day! I've done this before and more when doing the Jersey round the island walk but it's a bit daunting doing it somewhere new. I'll also be carrying a tent with me which I don't have to do on Jersey! The whole of the South West coast path, which I hope to complete by the time the Kili walk comes round, is 630 miles, should be good training and very scenic as well.

A big, big thank you to everyone who has sponsored me recently, my total now is over £500 which is awesome and I really appreciate it.

Cheers

Nick

First post

2009-08-31T15:20:00.001+01:00

Welcome to my blog! This is my way of keeping everyone up-to-date with the challenges that I intend to complete, the first of which is to climb Mount Kilimanjaro for Macmillan Cancer Support in October 2010.

Macmillan is a great charity which helps thousands of cancer sufferers in the UK every year and I'm proud to be supporting them. The hike itself is very challenging - we (me and about 30 others) will be climbing for 11 days from 1800m to the summit at 5896m through rainforests, high plateau and glaciers, camping at various locations along the way. I can't wait! My training started properly on Saturday with a 14 mile walk coast-to-coast in Jersey, lots of other walks planned over the coming months including walking the UK's South West Coast path, the Jersey ITEX midwinter walk (a 48 mile walk in the middle of December!) and the Three Peaks (Snowdon, Scarfell Pike and Ben Nevis).

Thank you to those of you who have sponsored me already (your donation is really appreciated). Anyone reading this who hasn't yet sponsored me, please feel free to make use of the easy links on the right hand side of this page.

I'm currently putting together my fundraising plan - the target looks very big at this stage but at least I've got just over a year to get there. Any ideas for unusual and interesting fundraising ideas please send in on a postcard, or maybe just send me an e-mail :-)

Off to New York and New England for a holiday this week so going to be finding some ways to fit in some training over there, need to do something to work off all those calories!

Thanks for taking the time to read this, bye for now

Nick