The Satmap 10 Peaks is Macmillan’s toughest charity event which is run for free by the organisers in an effort to raise as much money for charity as possible. Each year the highest fundraiser receives the 10 Peaks Trophy engraved with their name. Ian Hollis was last year’s winner who raised over £2000 for Macmillan! Ian will be travelling all the way from Spain to take part in the event and has his eye on the trophy once more.

The highest fundraiser this year will also receive a Satmap Active 10 GPS unit worth £300 so there is even more reason to set up a fundraising page or hand out some sponsorship forms. The winner will need to show evidence of their fundraising and will be sent the prize and trophy about a month after the event.

Download the Macmillan sponsorship form

The Centurion Thames Path 100

My preparation had been short but reasonably successful. March 3rd was the day I was going to find out whether I could run 100 miles with only 7 weeks preparation. Those 7 weeks included time to taper so it was always going to be a big ask!

Having taken part in many Ironman races before I know that it is easy to set off on a mental back foot when you see super fit athletes walking around town the evening before an event. Why they have to wear their tri-gear for dinner I will never know! But on entering the registration room in Richmond town hall things were slightly different and that wasn’t purely down to the temperature. Runners sat around the edge of the hall, some in an almost meditative state, saving their energy for what was to come.

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Free online mapping, planning and sharing for everyone!
Satmap Systems Ltd, manufacturer of the Active 10 GPS, is pleased to announce the launch of Xpedition a multifunctional online mapping, route planning and sharing application. At www.satmap-xpedition.com outdoor enthusiast can find worldwide mapping, aerial photography, detailed international topographical maps and the renowned Ordnance Survey maps.

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4:00am, Saturday 2nd July, over 100 of us gathered in the Swirls Car Park by Thirlmere lake for the 2011 10 Peaks Challenge. After last year when no-one managed 10 peaks, the numbers had now doubled and there was a very young and athletic feel to the occasion, all wanting to be the first competitor to complete the tough course. The course travels about 45 miles over a route that includes the 10 highest summits in the Lake District, some 18,500 ft of climb.

Me, well I have mountain experience now – 7 to be exact. Yes the 7 that we conquered at last year’s event!

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I was a bit wary of this brown tube as I saw it lying in the boot of the marshal’s car at Honistor Slate Mine but I would go as far as to say it is partly responsible for me finishing the course!

I gave up black tea at the beginning of January but promised myself I could have a cup when I reached CP4 to give me the much needed boost I would need. I arrived at the mine after the café had shut so I thought I would give the Activator a try. The caffeine hit combined with jacket potato and chilli was perfect to prepare me for the final stages of the event. As I headed up towards Dale Head Tarn my previous weakness was behind me and running across Maiden Moor and Catbells as the sun was setting was one of my highlights of the event.

The Activators can be bought from Team Nutrition. I won’t be doing an endurance event again without one.

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3am in the morning and I’m sat up in bed, wearing just my navy blue Patagonia Y fronts and a head torch. I’m also smearing factor 30 sun block on my arms and legs. A guy looks in the window, he’s wearing a hoodie, we stare at each other, it doesn’t take long to workout which one of us is the “misfit”

You see I have entered the “10 Peaks Challenge”. A race around the 10 highest peaks in the Lake District. I have slept the night in my landrover, parked near the grounds of a posh Keswick hotel and the transfer coaches leave for the start in 15 minutes. This is the second year for the event. A charity event for Macmillan Cancer Research. Last year 52 people started and non finished!

The coaches leave on time and we arrive at Thirlmere. A pep talk from the organiser follows, I look around at my fellow competitors. There’s a good mix of long distance runners and walkers. Also a smattering of hard as nails fell runners, with their tatty and worn gear, obligatory holes in their Helly Hansen thermals and calf muscles shaped like spades. Contrasting with the road runners, well dressed in co-ordinated Ronhills, nattering about negative split times and mile markers.

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It’s not just the competitors that go the extra mile in aid of charity. The 10 Peaks Challenge attracts extreme marshals too! Aqua Consultants were not content with setting up a check point on top of the highest mountain in England, they set up an aid station providing bottled water and energy bars for all competitors! They were joined by a member of Raynet who provided the comms to other check points and back to base.

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Saturday July 2nd was a very long day for all 102 people who made it to the start line of the 2nd 10 Peaks Challenge. At 3.20am two coaches picked up competitors from Keswick for the 20 minute ride to the start at Swirls Car Park. It was fairly quiet on the coaches, not just because of the time of day but perhaps the dawning of the mammoth task that lay ahead.

The climb to Helvellyn from Thirlmere

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Adam Jackson

A huge well done to our 2011 winners. Adam Jackson became the first person to ever complete the course and he did so in a time of 14 hours 30 minutes. He was followed by Ozzy Kershaw (pictured below) who was 27 minutes behind and Joseph Gale (pictured below) who finished 61 minutes behind Adam in a time of 15 hours and 31 minutes.

Rebecca Lounds (pictured below) was the first female finisher in a time of 22 hours 26 minutes.

Both the male and female winners recieved a pair of Newton Terra Momentus Trail shoes worth £120 kindly donated by Newton Running. Read more