A big thank you to everyone who donated and helped us raise £2000 for
Guide dogs for the blind!
Jos, Rachael, Amber, Linda, Kirsty and Nichola all undertook a three
discipline challenge comprising of a 10k hike up the old man of
Conistion, a 17 k bike ride up and through the Grizdale mountains and a
3 km canoe across Coniston water to finish.
We arrived at the Lake District on the Friday night after a long journey
and had to put the tents together in the dark. 
The night was very cold
and we all struggled to get to sleep through the noise of chattering
teeth. It was an early cold and foggy start to the next morning but a
cup of tea and bacon buttie made us feel much better. All the teams
gathered in the school hall for a briefing before the event started. The
atmosphere was fantastic, everyone excited and laughing and commenting
on the other teams fancy dress. Our team were sporting pink tutu's and
pink arm warmers as we made our way to the start position, all slightly
nervous but looking forward to the tough challenge ahead.
We set off for the hike with heavy backpacks full of water, chocolates
and snacks. The first 100 m were up a gently hill heading out of the
village towards the old man of Coniston, then we turned the corner and
were faced with what I'm sure was the steepest road on earth! This was
a challenge in itself!
Once we started the ascent the nice grass and rock path disappeared and
became a broken jagged rock face. We had been walking for about an hour
and the rest turned into a bit of a climb. We were very glad that grown
fit men were struggling and just as red in the face as we were. The fog
had disappeared and there was not a cloud in the sky, the sun shone down
and we all so pleased we not doing this in the wind and rain as so many
teams before us had. 
We reached the summit and took in the breath taking in the
views and watched the other teams making their way up.
The descent was a welcome relief and we found it a lot easier than the
climb up, we also took in some lovely views and stopped next to a
beautiful lake to take some pictures. 
We arrived back at the event base
three and a half hours after setting off, slightly tired but full of
enthusiasm for next section.
After a brief induction as to how the bike gears and brakes work, we set
off in single file still wearing our tutus. Again the first mile was a
nice cycle on country roads with fabulous views of Coniston water,
lulling us into a false sense of security that this isn't too bad we'll
be back in no time. We then cycled up a small hill that led into a very
steep very long hill! We slowed down and tried our best to cycle up
until our thighs gave in and we had to push the bikes up. The next three
hours were spent pushing and trying to get our bikes up hill after hill.
Every time we turned a corner we would be faced with another thigh
burning mound to climb. We all struggled to summon the strength and will
to do final loop before the descent and this was the hardest part for
our team.
The descent was so much fun and so exhilarating, dirt paths leading down
through the forest back to the village. It took us four hours to
complete the mountain bike section and at this point we were all hot and
exhausted.
Next we walked to Coniston water for our canoe section, the water was
still and the sun continued to shine. We all found this section the
easiest although we got quite wet and our muscles were starting to seize
we managed to complete it in 38 minutes.
We spent the evening celebrating, well until 9pm and then we were all so tired we retreated to our sleeping bags. We came 17th out of 50 teams and completed everything in 7 and a half hours!
Well done girls!
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