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Inspiration

WHAT CAN I DO TO HELP THE PEOPLE OF UKRAINE?

March 2, 2022

It’s good to see how a lot of small gestures can add up and have a big impact.

Banning Russia from the Eurovision Song Contest will not on its own change the conflict, but when coupled with hundreds of other similar gestures and initiatives, it can and will make a huge difference.

Being embedded in the charity sector, we have come across a number of our charity partner’s campaigns that are helping to support the people of Ukraine.

For example, we know from other conflicts, that armed violence is the number one driver of hunger. With war comes displacement, disruptions to local supply chains, little to no income, and soaring fuel and food prices. Families are driven into poverty and struggle to access food and basic needs. It is estimated that at least 2.9 million people in Ukraine will need humanitarian assistance in 2022.

If you wish to support the people of Ukraine, here are some ways you can:

? Action Against Hunger UK, have launched an emergency appeal to support the Ukrainian families affected by the conflict to make sure they have access to the help they need.

? British Red Cross, has launched an appeal to help the Ukrainian Red Cross to provide food, medicine, clothing and shelter, as well as first aid training in bomb shelters and, in the last few days, 15,000 litres of drinking water to villages in eastern Ukraine.

? UNHCR, the UN Ref ugee Agency, is funding emergency shelters, repairs for homes damaged by shelling, emergency cash assistance, psychological support and warm clothing.

? UNICEF, the UN’s children’s charity, is helping to ensure families have clean water and food and that child health and protection services continue.

? Save the Childr en UK, is providing cash assistance, food and other support to refugees crossing into Romanian and Lithuania, as well as in Ukraine itself.

Challenges

CELEBRATE 2022 WITH THE RETURN OF OVERSEAS CHALLENGES!

February 25, 2022

We are delighted to have restarted our overseas challenges again for the first time in almost two years! We have had a number of successful challenges already return from Tanzania and Sweden and others about to depart to Nepal, Peru, Argentina and Morocco.

We are constantly reviewing relevant guidance, and advice from local and international government authorities, about necessary travel requirements. For the the latest travel advisory update please click here.

Now that we have been given the green light on overseas travel, our 2022 dates have started to book up fast!

How are you planning to spend your year?

MAY

Trek to Petra, 7 May 2022
Discover the ancient ‘rose city’ of Petra, a UNESCO World Heritage Site on this 5-day trek along a breath-taking section of the Jordan Trail. Sign up before midnight 13th Mar 2022 and get £100 off the registration fee! Use the code PETRA100 when booking.

JUNE

Mount Toubkal Trek, 7 June 2022
Summit Jebel Toubkal, Morocco’s highest mountain (4,167m) and get lost in the colourful souks of mystical Marrakech.

Trek Albanian Alps, 10 June 2022
Traverse lush green valleys, wildflower meadows and craggy passes in Albania, and conquer Zla Kolata, Montenegro’s highest mountain (2,534m).

JULY

Giant’s Causeway Challenge, 15 July 2022
Take on a marathon distance trek along the dramatic coastline of the Giant’s Causeway, UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Kilimanjaro Summit Climb, 20 July 2022
Follow the uncrowded Lemosho route to conquer the famous ‘roof of Africa’ – Mt Kilimanjaro (5,895m)

AUGUST

Iceland Lava Trek, 3 Aug 2022
This 5-day Icelandic itinerary takes in thundering waterfalls, steaming lava fields, plunging fjords and spouting geysers. Rewarded with an indulgent visit to Iceland’s famous Blue Lagoon.

SEPTEMBER

Trek Transylvania, 6 Sept 2022
Traverse the Transylvanian Alps on this 60km trek through Romania and explore Count Dracula’s eerie castle.

Everest Base Camp, 29 Sept 2022
Stand in the shadows of the world’s highest mountain (8,848m) and explore Nepal’s mystical capital, Kathmandu.

OCTOBER

Trek Angkor Wat, 8 Oct 2022
Trek into the heart of the stunning Phnom Kulen National Park, visiting sacred waterfalls, the Giant Sleeping Buddha and Angkor Wat.

Great Wall Discovery, 8 Oct 2022
Test yourself against thousands of steps along the Great Wall of China, one of the Seven Wonders of the World, with time to explore China’s historic capital – Beijing.

NOVEMBER

Saigon to Angkor Wat, 3 Nov 2022
Cycle 450kms from the waterways and rice paddies of the Mekong Delta, passing ancient temples, pagodas, and colourful villages before finishing at the Royal Temples of Angkor Wat, Cambodia.

Cuba Revolution Cycle, 4 Nov 2022
Welcome to the land of cigars, revolution, Che Guevara and vintage Chevrolets. Cycle 350km from one beautiful coastline to the other, passing remote villages, fruit orchards and sugar plantations.

EXPLORE OUR FULL RANGE OF CHALLENGES HERE

Tips & Advice

EVERYTHING YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT TEAM BOOKINGS

January 17, 2022

Charity Challenge group hug on Great Wall Discovery Challenge

How do I book a team onto a challenge?

Firstly, you’ll need to nominate a ‘lead booker’ to create the booking on behalf of your team. They’ll need to head to our website, choose a challenge, and click ‘BOOK NOW’.

On the booking form, the lead booker will fill in the registration form with their details as normal. Towards the end of the registration form, they will have the option to add ‘ADDITIONAL TEAMMATES’ to create a team. They’ll simply enter the number of additional teammates and choose a team name!

To complete the booking, the lead booker will then pay registration fees for ALL team members to reserve the appropriate number of spaces.

The booking form will look like this:

How many people can be in my team?

A team booking is based on two or more participants booking together. There is no limit to maximum team numbers (provided there is space on the challenge).

If you’re looking to book a team of 20 or more, however, please drop us an email at info@charitychallenge.com so we can assist accordingly.

If you’d like to add additional teammates once your initial booking is complete, the lead booker can purchase additional places via their Charity Challenge account. They can log in here, head to the ‘Team Bookings’ tab on the left-hand side and scroll to the bottom of the page. There they will find the option to add one or more additional places and pay their registration fees.

Do my teammates need to register?

Yes – we’ll need the full details of each participant taking part in the challenge.

Once the lead booker has completed the booking, they will receive an email titled ‘Your Challenge Team…’. This email contains a unique booking URL. It the lead bookers responsibly to share this link to each of their team, in order for each member to then register.

Upon clicking the link, teammates will either create an account or log in (if they’ve used our services before) and be asked to complete the same registration form. As the lead booker has created the team, and paid for all registration fees, they will not need to pay a registration fee for their booking. They’ll be automatically allocated one of the team’s pre-paid registration fees upon completion of the booking form.

It is important that teammates book via the link shared from the lead booker only and not through our main website in order to join the team and receive a pre-paid registration fee.

We’d encourage your teammates to sign up ASAP to avoid auto-cancellation of empty spaces, especially if they are opting for our ‘minimum sponsorship’ or ‘flexi sponsorship’ payment options, which requires authorisation from the charity – we want to make sure they have plenty of time to meet their fundraising deadlines!

The lead booker can monitor who has completed their registration to join the team, and find their unique booking URL, in their Charity Challenge account area under ‘team bookings’.

a team booking of charity challengers smiling in front of a mountain

Why should I book as a team?

If “teamwork makes the dream work” wasn’t cliché enough, we’re firm believers that joining a challenge as a team can transform your experience. As a team, you’re both motivated and supported by those striving for the same goal as you. A little healthy competition never hurt anyone, either!

Booking this way can:

Ensure all participants bookings are aligned and uniform

Simplify the process of booking onto a challenge by having one central registration payment

Guarantee places on a challenge

It’s important to note that booking as a team will not affect your time on the challenge. To ensure you’re grouped, or walking together, on your challenge, please have a chat with your challenge leader on the challenge day. Please note, with some challenges, groups may be allocated by walking speed, so members of your team may need to adjust their pace to ensure you all stay together.

Are the challenge costs and fundraising costs per team or per participant?

All of our costs listed on our website are per participant, across all payment options.

If the team are all using the ‘minimum sponsorship’ payment method, you’re welcome to fundraise as a team. Please ensure that your target fundraising amount reflects the number of participants, and that you’ve notified your nominated charity of this. Sending them a link to your fundraising page is a great idea.

For example: if a team of 10 take on the National Three Peaks in 2025, choosing the ‘minimum sponsorship’ payment method, they’re required to raise £935.00 per participant. Therefore, a team fundraising page would need to have a target of at least £9350.00.

Charity Challenge group trekking across the Sahara Desert

Do my teammates have to nominate the same charity and use the same payment option as me?

When the lead booker creates the team, they’ll be asked whether the team should have the same payment option and charity nomination on their bookings. If they select ‘yes’ to both questions, the charity nomination field and payment option question on the teammates’ booking forms will be auto populated and they’ll be unable to edit. If they select ‘no,’ they’ll be able to select their payment option and which charity they would like to nominate.

Alternatively, you can allow your teammates to choose a payment option that works for them but nominate the same charity or to nominate their charity of choice but have the same payment option.

Any changes post-booking will incur an administration fee, as per our T&Cs.

If you’re all fundraising for the same charity and would like to do this as a group, we advise checking with the nominated charity first – and remember that the sponsorship amounts are per person!

For any further information, please visit our website.

BOOKING WITH CONFIDENCE

January 15, 2022

During these unsettling times our charity partners need our support more than ever. The continued Covid-19 situation puts them in an extremely vulnerable position as a huge portion of their income has been lost from cancelled fundraising events in 2020 and 2021. Now is the time that we all need to come together to ensure we can continue to help those most in need.

Charity Challenge have operated close to 100 challenges throughout England, Ireland, Scotland and Wales since the end of the first lock down in 2020. We are pleased to tell you that all of our UK and Irish challenges are now fully operational with Covid-Safe measures in place.

Our international challenges are due to start again from January 2022 and with thousands of trekkers and riders waiting to take part in their postponed challenges, we are getting ready operationally to put into practice all of the learning from operating our domestic challenges. We want anyone considering booking or travelling with Charity Challenge to have absolute confidence, so we have put together the following information to support your decision
making.

For downloadable pdfs of our Booking with Confidence details click on the relevant link below:

Booking with Confidence : Overseas Challenges

1. What happens if my challenge cannot run due to Covid-19?

Please rest assured that if Charity Challenge cannot operate a challenge in the host country due to Covid-19, we will offer you a number of options including:

the chance to postpone your challenge to a later departure (this year or next)
to join any Charity Challenge trip in another country (this year or next)
to transfer your place to someone else
to receive a refund of monies paid for the challenge (excluding admin fees)

2. When are Charity Challenge making a final decision regarding if a challenge can take place?

Overseas Challenges

If for any reason we don’t feel your challenge can proceed we will make a decision approximately 12 weeks prior to your challenge (the only exception to this would be if the government advice suddenly changed – between 12 weeks and your challenge date – and then we would be in touch at the earliest convenience).

UK Challenges

If for any reason we don’t feel that your challenge can proceed we will make a decision approximately 8 weeks prior to your challenge (the only exception to this would be if the Government advice suddenly changed – between 8 weeks and your challenge date – and then we would be in touch at the earliest convenience).

3. Spread the cost of booking a challenge over 2 months

For most international trips, you can book and pay your registration fee in two instalments. You pay the first instalment at the time of booking and we will automatically take the second instalment from the same credit or debit card 31 days later. When paying your registration fee in instalments, a £10 admin fee will be added to your first registration fee payment. Please note that your booking will not be processed (and we will not send an authorisation request to your charity) until we receive the payment for the second instalment. Your place on the challenge will only be held for 31 days from your initial booking. If we are unable to take your second instalment, your booking will be cancelled, and normal cancellation terms will apply. Please see our terms and conditions. (Please note that if you take part in one of our promotions, i.e Black Friday, or New Year Sale, you are unable to spread the cost of booking a challenge over 2 months)

4. What if I postpone the challenge and then the later postponed trip is also affected and cannot run due to Covid-19?

Even if you move on to another challenge later in the year or next year, if we still find ourselves in a position where we cannot operate the challenge due to Covid-19, we will offer you the same options as above, to postpone, to change trips, to transfer your place to someone else or to receive a refund.

5. Can Charity Challenge help me with my fundraising deadline?

As standard, you should send 80% of your minimum sponsorship target to the charity 10 weeks before an international challenge, and 7 weeks before a UK challenge.

However, your chosen charity may be able offer you some flexibility over this either with the % due, or the number of weeks before departure. We therefore recommend that you speak directly to your specific charity. In most cases charities have been extremely understanding of the difficulties around fundraising during the pandemic and have therefore been willing to move their fundraising deadlines in order to support you to take part in the challenge.

6. What safety measures will Charity Challenge have in place to enable overseas challenges to take place safely?

Since May this year, we have operated many of our UK challenges with a range of procedures in place to comply with regulations and guidance and provide a safe environment in which to complete challenges. We were able to do this by vigilantly following a variety of government, local authority and national governing bodies guidelines. We used these guidelines to produce our own ‘Covid Safe’ safety management that all of our events needed to adhere to.
All of our leaders and crew were given online training to understand and carry out these guidelines. We produced a ‘COVID 19 – Keeping you Safe ’ document that was sent to everyone participating on a challenge.

We are already working with our teams overseas to put in place a number of ‘Covid safe’ systems so that our international challenges can get up and running as soon as it is safe to do so. If it is necessary then this will include things like providing single rooms or tents to all participants, increasing space on vehicles used for transfers and providing facemasks and hand sanitiser at all stages of the challenge. Once we have a greater understanding of what will be required in each destination we will make sure that everyone booked onto an overseas challenge is informed of what measures are being put in place to keep you safe.

We have worked incredibly hard to keep everyone taking part on a UK challenge safe. We produced online safety briefing videos for participants to watch before arriving at the challenge, provided single rooms for everyone when accommodation was required, put on extra buses to enable social distancing to take place on all transfers, and provided bottles of hand sanitiser, facemasks and buffs for everyone taking part on a challenge. We will continue to
make sure that your safety is at the centre of every decision we make when it comes to operating our challenges.

7. Is there any travel insurance that provides any kind of cover for Covid-19?

Our travel insurance partners at Campbell Irvine have launched a policy which includes Medical Expenses and Cancellation cover for Covid-19. This is a vital piece of cover for any intended overseas trip, so please do read this information carefully.

Travel Insurance Cover

Medical emergency treatment overseas and medical repatriation if you are diagnosed with Covid-19.
Cancellation cover to reimburse you for any irrecoverable payments and charges made for travel and accommodation if you have to cancel your trip due to a doctor diagnosing either you, a close relative or your travelling companion with Covid-19 and as a result being advised not to travel.
Cancellation due to either you or your travelling companion’s direct exposure to a close relative being diagnosed with Covid-19 resulting in an order via the NHS Test and Trace programme for you to be medically quarantined and not being able to travel.
Cancellation or Curtailment cover due to denied boarding of public transport if displaying symptoms of Covid-19.

Like all insurance policies, there are specific exclusions, so please read all of the detail before purchasing. For further information on the updated Campbell Irvine Direct travel insurance policy including Covid-19 cover, please see:

If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact the team at Campbell Irvine. 020 7938 1734. info@campbellirvine.com. www.campbellirvinedirect.com

8. What financial security do Charity Challenge provide?

We provide financial security for flight-inclusive packages by way of our Air Travel Organiser’s Licence (number 6546), issued by the Civil Aviation Authority. When you buy an ATOL protected flight-inclusive challenge from us you will receive an ATOL Certificate in your account area. This lists what is financially protected, where you can get information on what this means for you and who to contact if things go wrong. For further information, visit the ATOL website at www.atol.org.uk.

Not all challenge or travel services offered and sold by us will be protected by the ATOL Scheme. ATOL protection extends primarily to customers who book flight inclusive packages originating in the United Kingdom. We also provide full financial protection for any challenges that are packages but DO NOT include flights (and where you are joining from a European country), by way of an insurance policy held with International Passenger Protection Limited and underwritten by Insurers who are members of the Association of British Insurers & Lloyds Syndicates. For further information please go to www.ipplondon.co.uk.

Covid -19 : Frequently Asked Questions

We understand that all the changes in the current environment can be extremely overwhelming and may leave you with many questions as we all adapt to the new way of being. To hopefully ease some of your concerns we have pulled together some FAQ’s around Covid-19.

UK Challenges Covid-19 FAQ’s

Oversea’s Challenges Covid-19 FAQ’s

We hope the above information provides some support, but if you have any further questions please do not hesitate to get in touch. challenges@charitychallenge.com +44 (0)20 8346 0500

Tips & Advice

TRAINING FOR YOUR UPCOMING CHALLENGE

January 14, 2022

Do not underestimate the importance of training before your challenge. Even if you are active and exercise regularly, it’s good to adapt your training towards your chosen challenge activity. This is vital in building strength, cardiovascular stamina and muscle endurance for the challenge ahead.

We provide plenty of additional information and guidance in your personalised login area, including warm up, stretching, cardiovascular training, exercise intensity, cross training, resistance (weight) training, cool down and the hazards of over-training.

We recommend you seek advice from a fitness professional, so as to develop a programme tailored to your needs, lifestyle and fitness level. Besides specifying the types of exercise, duration and intensity you need, a good trainer can also advise you on nutrition and diet.

Challenge Training

If you would like to get a feel for our challenges ahead of your departure, why not consider booking on a 1 or 2 day UK Challenge?

We have a variety of challenges, covering all levels of difficulty, taking place in stunning National Parks across the UK that are led by highly qualified and experienced expedition and mountain leaders. These challenges will give you the perfect opportunity to monitor fitness levels, test out your kit, meet people in the great outdoors, share fundraising stories and gain valuable advice and support for the challenge ahead. We encourage participants to make use of our highly knowledgeable leaders and ask them any questions you may have about clothing and equipment, expedition health and wellbeing, trekking skills, walking techniques and teamwork!

We are offering all participants 50% off the registration fee when you book on one of the UK challenges listed below. Just use the code TRAINING when booking. T&C’s – you must have an active booking on a challenge to avail of this offer. Discount can not be used in conjunction with any other offer.

1-Day Challenges

London Royal Parks Challenge, England

Challenge yourself to this marathon distance trek between the ten London Royal Park’s. This epic 42km route will take you across historic parkland and beautiful green spaces, while passing some of the finest architecture in London.

The thames footpath challenge - training challenges

Thames Footpath Challenge, England

Challenge yourself to an epic 42km journey through London, following the Thames Path from Hampton Court and trekking a marathon distance to Millennium Bridge. Your journey will take you along the river past historic green spaces and gardens, where you’ll see famous landmarks such as the Houses of Parliament and the London Eye.

South Downs Challenge, England

Challenge yourself on this incredible 42km marathon distance trek along some of the UK’s most famous coastal scenery, including the stunning Seven Sisters and Beachy Head, before finishing in Eastbourne.

2-Day Challenges

Lake District Triple Challenge, England

Trek to the summit of one of the Lake District’s most iconic peaks, the Old Man of Coniston (803m), before testing yourself on the off-road mountain bike trails of Grizedale Forest, then kayak across the iconic Coniston Water.

Lake District 5 Peaks Challenge, England

Prepare for an epic 22km trek through the rugged and dramatic landscape of the Lake District, as you tackle five of England’s most demanding peaks, including its highest – Scafell Pike (978m).

Snowdon Triple Challenge, Wales

Pit yourself against the spectacular landscape of Snowdonia National Park in this tough and exciting multi-activity challenge. You’ll summit the mighty Snowdon (1,085m) as well as tackling challenging biking and kayaking sections all the while surrounded by this stunning part of Wales.

Ben Nevis at Night, Scotland

Beginning in Glen Nevis, in the heart of the Scottish highlands, this spectacular challenge will take you to the top of Ben Nevis (1345m)….at night! Reach the summit as the sun starts to rise and you will be rewarded with spectacular views of the Scottish Highlands.

Snowdon at Night, Wales

Beginning in the town of Llanberis, in the heart of the Snowdonia National Park, this spectacular challenge will see you and fellow fundraisers trekking to the top of Snowdon (1085m) … at night! Trek under the starry skies of Snowdonia in order to reach the summit of the highest mountain in Wales for sunrise.

hadrians wall trail challenge 2 days tough

Hadrian’s Wall Trail Challenge, England

This exciting and strenuous marathon distance challenge of 26 miles will have you trekking along this stunning world famous historic landscape. Hadrian’s Wall runs across the north of the UK from coast to coast and remains one of the largest ancient monuments in Northern Europe.

What grade should I choose?

Whether you are a challenge veteran or this is your first time taking on a Charity Challenge we have something for everyone.

There are three difficulty levels:

Challenging: A “challenging” trip will test someone who is relatively fit and has a spirit of adventure. You may have had some previous experience, but this is not necessary as long as the correct training is undertaken. You will be physically tested but the terrain is often on well-established routes.
Tough: A “tough” trip should be undertaken by someone with previous experience and interest in the activity – whether biking or trekking. A tough challenge will test you both physically and mentally. Both cycle and treks will be hilly, and training is essential. On a UK “tough” challenge, you should expect 10+ hours of exertion over demanding terrain.
Extreme: Extreme challenges will involve a great deal of endurance. These trips are not to be taken lightly. They are usually undertaken by someone with previous experience in a mountain setting, but who wants to take their experience to the next level physically and mentally. Training is essential.

Inspiration

2021 HIGHLIGHTS FROM THE CHARITY CHALLENGE LEADERS

December 23, 2021

As 2021 comes to a close, we look back on everything we have collectively achieved with YOU – our heroic adventurous participants – and to share our gratitude to all those involved.

Clearly, the main achievement this year has been navigating through the many and sudden Covid impacts on international travel and working through the ever changing rules and restrictions. But I am delighted to tell you that we also managed to support almost 4000 participants to take on over 75 UK challenges, which have raised around £3million for many great causes.

We have many thousands of participants who were unable to take on an international challenge over the last two years, who are now lined up to travel on their challenge of a lifetime in 2022, and we look forward to getting those challenges back up and running.

To all of the individuals who came out this year to take on their challenge, and to our many charity and corporate partners, I would like to publicly thank you from the bottom of my heart for your continued support and desire to travel whenever the situation has allowed.

To the leaders, doctors, drivers and other support team members, thank you for your energy and enthusiasm and words of support in the difficult moments.

We can see the light at the end of the tunnel getting brighter and brighter and we hope and believe that 2022 will provide a year of new and exciting travel and challenge opportunities!

Simon and team Charity Challenge,
Simon Albert, Co founder and Director

Looking back on 2021, these are the moments that hold a special place in the hearts of our Charity Challenge leaders.

ANDY BAKER, HEAD OF UK EVENTS

Where do you start trying to pick a highlight from such an incredibly busy year! It would have to be the CoppaFeel! Scottish Highlands Challenge in September. For me personally this was the culmination of an initial idea to organise a trekking itinerary in the UK that would replicate the experience of being on one of our overseas challenges. It worked brilliantly. The varied routes in the Scottish Highlands offered a real challenge, the campsite was great, the food brilliant and the whole group of participants were very special. With no mobile phone signal on the campsite it was great to watch people sit and talk around the campsite….or queue up to use the pay phone clutching 10p pieces!

COLIN LOVELL

My highlight of the year has got to be Palaces on Wheels, the four day cycle ride from Highgrove House to Sandringham with the British Asian Trust. There were so many magical moments from talking to Prince Charles, accessing the various palaces and cycling many new roads. The route took us through the Cotswolds hills, historic Oxford, various royal parks, the chaos of central London and finally the flatness of Norfolk. A lovely diverse group who stayed positive and fun throughout, despite this being a very hard challenge for some of them. The Charity Challenge Team was made up of people I have done many cycle rides with before so it was nice to be part of a well oiled machine.

LOUISE ALLEN

It’s got to be the Mind Hike Hadrian’s Wall and Dawn till Dusk, both of which were on my home territory. Sharing 12 hours of laughs, tears and stories with some extraordinary people. After an extremely tough 18 months it was great to be able to promote and support good mental health through exercise and sharing chat.

PENNY KNIGHT

St Ives was nervous – and rightly so. The G7 Summit was of secondary importance next to the main event. Joe Biden only had G7 but we had the No 1 G and she meant business. The CoppaFeel! crowd were descending en masse in temperatures of 31° to extreme excitement following months of anticipation. OK, it wasn’t the intended Sahara Desert Trek but anyone who has ever come across this inspirational bunch of women would know that was never going to dampen their spirits. Pasties, ice creams, campsite cricket, tin mines and coves, cramp and blisters (wow, the blisters!), sand and rocky ledges – this trek had its highs and lows, tears and laughter, sun and rain, tutus and tits . . . of course, tits!! However there were many more highs than lows, more laughter than tears and more sun than rain. Yet again the CoppaFeel! participants had excelled, bonded like sisters, challenged themselves above what they thought they could and raised a significant amount for this incredible charity. Kris Hallenga (founder of CoppaFeel!), who lives in Cornwall, joined us to celebrate and sealed this for us all up there with the very best of life’s experiences.

LIZZY CODD

Without doubt the two trips that stick in my mind from 2021 are the Coppafeel treks I helped lead in Cornwall in June and the Highlands of Scotland in September. The ladies who joined us for these trips overcame pain, self-doubt, mental health issues, family commitments and fitness to achieve heights they thought impossible. It’s the reason I love leading walks, giving people the chance to achieve things they thought unachievable. They worked together to encourage each other and gain confidence in what they could do. From Tamsin who trekked mile after mile of vertiginous South West Coast Path despite her fear of heights, often in tears but continuing to put one foot in front of the other. To Leanne, who would take shorter breaks than everyone else so she could start up the next hill at her own pace and not feel guilty making people wait for her. To the extremely fit Kelly who despite having stage 4 cancer was always cheerful and quickly reassessed her goals when she realised others weren’t as fit as her and would struggle with hills she could walk with her eyes closed – she turned out to be a real asset to the team. And finally my fellow leaders (the Teletubbies) were also the best crew ever – miss them all!

DUNCAN TURNBULL

There were three highlights for me working on three totally different jobs. All three had truly inspirational people on them for very different reasons. The first was Climb for Caroline in memory of the late TV presenter Caroline Flack. Taking part were her close friends and family in support of the Samaritans, which obviously made it a very emotionally charged event. The next was three days trekking Hadrian’s Wall with nine amputees, among them Rachel Morris a double gold paralympic medalist. They were all very inspirational people.

Then came the big one: Coppafeel in Glen Lyon, a 100k challenge over five days with the most incredible people. Wow! What the body can do when the mindset is right! Thank you for allowing me to lead on these events.

IAN MORTON

In a year of so many highlights it’s been really difficult choosing just one! Exploring the South-West Coastal Path and Scottish Highlands with the ever-inspirational CoppaFeel! team, and the annual 24-hour MIND Hike on Hadrian’s Wall certainly stand out. I have, however, chosen an event that stood out to me personally and professionally even more than those amazing trips – the “Giant’s Causeway Challenge” in Northern Ireland in July. Helping plan and manage this inaugural event as part of a small leader team – involving a marathon-length trek along the Causeway Coast Way from the famous Carrick-a-Rede Rope Bridge to Portstewart via the World Heritage Site at Giant’s Causeway – was really challenging and interesting. Subsequently seeing the great feedback from the participants after a spectacular day’s walking (and seeing the Causeway myself for the first time) gave me a real sense of satisfaction!

RICHARD SIMPKIN

This year has been an extremely active and eventful one and the final challenge in some ways is the hardest: how to pick one highlight out of a year full of so many challenging, fun and emotional events? I spent some time pondering over the many highlights and decided to head all the way back to June and the LimbPower Hadrian’s Wall challenge. Having completed the recce, I had a picture album full of many stiles and some quite steep climbs as well as a series of alternative routes should the original route prove unachievable for the participants.

The route was a multi-day route which I find more enjoyable anyway as it gives you more time to get to know the participants. Day one went well but day two was the real learning point. There was a spot about a third of the way through when everything just clicked, the participants relaxed and the leaders understood when assistance was needed and when it wasn’t. The event finished with me in a car park next to a coffee shop shouting across to the team “who’s left their leg in the MPV?” much to the bemusement of other customers and the amusement of the team.

TOM RUMSEY

This year’s highlight for me was without a doubt the return of the Prostate Cancer UK March for Men and the opportunity to hang out with the legend that is Jeff Stelling. This event has been the highlight of my calendar for a few years now. Charity Challenge is very proud to be supporting Jeff Stelling complete his 33 marathon walk for Prostate Cancer UK fundraising over £1.2 million! Charity Challenge have had the pleasure of being involved with 23 of the “March for Men” marathons since 2017. That’s over 500 miles visiting over 60 football clubs and cities across the entire of the UK.

The 105 mile odyssey from Tyneside to London via Liverpool and West Yorkshire in 2021 did not disappoint! A team of 50+ staff over four days supporting over 400 charity walkers (including a few familiar faces) visiting, 17 sporting institutions and raising over £300k was full of amazing memories, lots of fun and was an emotional finish. This team photo with Jeff at the finish in the amazing new Spurs stadium pretty much sums up what a great event it is. Roll on 2022.

SAMEED ASGHAR

Having taken part in several amazing charity treks in 2021, the Coppafeel Scottish Highlands trek was definitely the highlight for me. It was great to see such an incredible group of people, who in one way or another were affected by cancer, take on a huge challenge. They were all inspirational individuals and it was an honour to help lead a group who conquered all of the mountains during the week. The bond between the whole group was something really special to see which I have not witnessed to such a deep extent on any other trek. This certainly left a lasting impression.

Just can’t wait to make your own memories? Visit Charity Challenge to choose your next challenge!

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