18th September 2009

30 miles through the ‘mountainous’ Brecons, yomping through the boggy marshland, panting up heart busting inclines and then down steep rocky paths fit to stretch knee ligaments to their max! Find out how Rosanna Turner, Marketing Manager at international health insurer, William Russell, got on and how much money she raised for Christopher’s Smile charity.

Why oh why did I say that I'd do the Mountain Trail Challenge? Actually I know why... to challenge my fitness levels, enjoy the spectacular scenery and to raise some much needed funds for the charity, Christopher's Smile.

Christopher's Smile was set up a year ago by the parents of Christopher Capel who tragically lost his life to brain cancer before his 6th birthday. Christopher suffered for nearly two years before his death, from the debilitating side-effects of the cancer treatment he received. In association with the Institute of Cancer Research, Christopher's Smile hopes to raise much needed funds to develop new childhood cancer treatments that not only increase the chances of survival from the 25% of children it currently stands at, but that also limit the nasty side-effects suffered by those who survive.

Karen Capel, co-founder of Christopher's Smile, says:

“In developed countries, childhood cancer is the principle cause of death by disease in children and teenagers. Although less common than adult cancers, childhood cancer research receives a mere fraction of the funding compared to adult cancers. Christopher's Smile was set up to raise awareness and much needed funds for research into childhood cancers, with the vision that every child diagnosed with childhood cancer should not only survive, but reach adulthood enjoying a good quality of life."

Thanks to a large donation from William Russell and other generous donations from colleagues, friends and family, I've raised over £1,200 for Christopher's Smile!

We parked ‘Poppy’ the campervan at the start of the trail the night before, and ingested a good amount of carb-rich food and water to take-on much needed energy and fluid for the 24 hours ahead of us.

The buzz of the challenge meant a restless night for me, but I awoke for the final time as dawn broke to the sound of a crowd gathering outside around a catering van that was serving burgers and tea.

It was 7.45am by the time the group of 6 of us (should have been 7, but a broken leg put pay to that, but that’s another story!) signed in with Mountain Rescue. We donned our packs containing obligatory toilet roll, waterproofs, extra socks, plasters, head torch, survival blanket, whistle, water and food for the day, and we began our trek.

We reached Check-point 1 seven miles later at the foot of our first steep climb for the day. Stopping briefly to take on water and admire the Parachute Regiment who were running down off the mountain, I started my ascent of Pen-Y-Fan at 886 metres.

Head down, a good load of Positive Mental Attitude running through my veins, and I stormed up the slope stopping briefly to draw air. I marvelled at how everyone’s approach was different. Some took on a focused snail’s pace but didn’t stop, others chatted all the way up stopping for a drink every 10 meters, and the rest, like me, went as fast as they could until they were gasping for air.

The next 10 miles took us up and down, and across the plateau of the Brecons to Check-point 2 at the base of a steep decline. With a couple of Snickers bars already lining my stomach, a sharp climb again from there ended in a much welcome stop for lunch, where we sat amongst sheep droppings and fought off biting midges!

Most of the hard work was done, but the next section was a long stretch through forest and peat bog with views across the green landscape and down to the Talybont Reservoir.

By Check-point 4 my feet were in a bad way - shooting hot pain in the small toes on the right foot, and agony from blisters on the left. Refusing the offer of a lift back to the campsite, I patched up the best I could, and with a grimace and a whimper, I set off for the last seven miles.

The final 2 hours was in complete darkness aside from the light of head torches and the blue glow sticks that were marking the trail. Moths kept attacking my face, and my sore feet sunk in the occasional boggy patch on the moor.

As a group, we finally reached the campsite at 9.30pm, where we were welcomed with cheering and clapping (and a hot cup of tea) from volunteers waiting to check us off their list. We returned to Poppy, where we cooked up bacon butties, compared injuries, and had a well earned rest.

I thoroughly enjoyed the weekend but will nurse sore muscles and battered feet for a good while!

Rosanna
Marketing Manager
William Russell Limited