Story

On Friday, 18th September 2020 at 9pm, I will be setting off to complete the Peak District Challenge. My version of the challenge is 75km (47 mile) and 2,235m (7332 ft) of ascent – the Silver challenge. This is something that I have been looking forward to this year and hoping that the event would not be cancelled due to Coronavirus. Running and the countryside have helped me throughout this year. The Peak District Challenge is an annual event that starts in Hathersage in the Peak District. There are several different options to choose from – last year I completed the Bronze, 50km challenge and enjoyed it so much that I entered the silver 75km this year. The route is circular and passes through Stanage Edge, the moors of the Dark Peak, Castleton, the Limestone Way and the Derwent river. The silver 75km route has 2,235m of ascent and will start on Friday night and end sometime on Saturday. The challenge is open to walkers and runners, and I intend to run-walk the route as fast as I can manage. I took part in the Bronze route in 2019 (50km) and completed it in under 6 hours. I am telling you all this because I aim to raise money to support my local Mountain Rescue team – Calder Valley Search and Rescue Team (CVSRT). Mountain Rescue is run by volunteers and funded 100% by donations. Mountain rescue team members are on call, 24 hours a day, 365 days a year to recover climbers from precipitous crags, reunite lost walkers with their pals and ensure injured and sick casualties are safely delivered into vital hospital care. But they also regularly help search for missing children and vulnerable adults, on and off the hills, whilst administering sympathetic support to their families. They search river banks and swift water, and wade chest-deep through flooded urban streets aiding swimmers, kayakers and devastated homeowners. Mountain Rescue teams in the UK are wonderful and undoubtedly save lives. All of the teams in the UK are volunteers and all of their equipment and resources are funded through public donations. They help people and communities stay safe in the outdoors and through environmental disasters, like the flooding that has taken place in Calderdale over the recent years. If there is one thing that this year has taught me; It is that we all need the countryside more than ever and I for one am grateful that we have a mountain rescue team looking out for us all. If you are able to spare a few pounds, please donate and support Mountain Rescue so that they are able to continue to support us all when we are outdoors.