Training at Go Ape...
Saturday, 16 April 2011
Sunday, 3 April 2011
Testing out the kit layer by layer...
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| Thermals |
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| Second layer |
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| Fleece and gloves |
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| Down Jacket |
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| Waterproof jacket, gloves, balaclava and goggles. Bring it on. |
Tuesday, 29 March 2011
Fundraising Event - Winter and Ice at Davenies School
On Friday 25th March, Davenies School in Beaconsfield hosted and sponsored a Poetry Performance Night called, ‘Winter and Ice’. This was a culmination of a terms worth of work where thirty two boys from the very popular Nanook of the North club acted out a series of poems with a very special twist. These ranged from the old masters like Shakespeare to some contemporary poems by Benjamin Zephaniah.
Following the show, was a post-performance cocktail hour where an array of culinary delights and drinks went on sale. The sushi, ‘Aurora Swish’ cocktail and blue champagne proved to be a big hit with the parents and the boys were treated to slush puppies, ice-cream, frappuchino’s and smoothies. Two huskies, Indie and Dexter joined us for the night and were understandably, the main stars of the show. The night was a phenomenal success, 140 tickets were sold with £1,053.00 pounds being raised for Wexham Special Care Baby Unit. This will take the total amount on our Just Giving site to £6860.00.
A consultant from SCBU joined us and was deeply touched by everyone’s sincere generosity. We were contacted by Pippa, the Unit Manager at SCBU and they have decided to purchase a Phototherapy Unit which helps premature babies with Jaundice and a Vapotherm Unit which helps with breathing. These will be dedicated to the memory of Ashley and Jessica and will help many other babies in the future.
An article on the event will be available on Thursday 31st March in the Beaconsfield Advertiser.
Saturday, 19 March 2011
Great Run This Morning
Glorious sunshine great for a run. Managed 7.2 miles in just under an hour which was pretty good going for me. Especially as I tackled Marlow Hill at the beginning - killer!
If you're interested in the route follow the jump...
http://maps.google.co.uk/maps/ms?ie=UTF8&hl=en&msa=0&msid=206187645082467054333.00049ed516b578829e273&t=h&z=14
If you're interested in the route follow the jump...
http://maps.google.co.uk/maps/ms?ie=UTF8&hl=en&msa=0&msid=206187645082467054333.00049ed516b578829e273&t=h&z=14
Training Going Well
How do you train for what we are going to do?
I'm not sure that this is the way...
My view is that we just have to get as fit as possible from a cardio point of view. The challenge will be physically tough so the fitter we are the better equipped we will be to cope.
I have been doing a fair bit of running as we will have to run behind the sled at times mixed with other cardio such as swimming and cycling.
My running is coming along well and I took the opportunity last week to head out for an early morning run after a hard frost. The temperature was around -5 so perfect to test out some of my new base layer gear which kept me nice and toasty. It was an absolutely gorgeous morning and I stopped to take a couple of pictures by the river in Marlow. I don't have any of those fancy gloves that work with a touch screen phone (yet) so had to take my gloves of for a picture. Big mistake. My hands did not warm up for the rest of the run so I hope you like the pictures and that they were worth the cold.
I'm not sure that this is the way...
My view is that we just have to get as fit as possible from a cardio point of view. The challenge will be physically tough so the fitter we are the better equipped we will be to cope.
I have been doing a fair bit of running as we will have to run behind the sled at times mixed with other cardio such as swimming and cycling.
My running is coming along well and I took the opportunity last week to head out for an early morning run after a hard frost. The temperature was around -5 so perfect to test out some of my new base layer gear which kept me nice and toasty. It was an absolutely gorgeous morning and I stopped to take a couple of pictures by the river in Marlow. I don't have any of those fancy gloves that work with a touch screen phone (yet) so had to take my gloves of for a picture. Big mistake. My hands did not warm up for the rest of the run so I hope you like the pictures and that they were worth the cold.
Thank You! Donations well over £5k!!!
A big thank you for all the support so far. We have gone past our initial target of £5,000 and have been overwhelmed at all your generosity!
We have been in touch with the SCBU who are extremely pleased at our progress.
Thanks again...
http://www.justgiving.com/Jacqueline-Newell
We have been in touch with the SCBU who are extremely pleased at our progress.
Thanks again...
http://www.justgiving.com/Jacqueline-Newell
Tuesday, 8 February 2011
Sunday, 6 February 2011
Training Day - Cannock Chase Forest
On Saturday we travelled up to Cannock Chase forest to be briefed on the upcoming Arctic trip. We met with some of our fellow mushers and the expedition guides that will accompany us in April.
After a presentation on what to expect during the trip we then were introduced to a couple of Huskies to practice setting up the harnesses and finally we were shown what kit we would be expected to take. Rather than detail out everything covered, I thought I would summarise some of the more interesting points covered:
General
It will be a tough challenge both mentally and physically but at the same time extremely rewarding. We are both now quite nervous about the trip but also very excited.
The Cold
It is going to get very cold! The lowest temperatures they have previously experienced is -36 C. We got many tips on what type of clothes to buy and how to dress to keep warm.
Camping will be Tough
By far the toughest part of the trip will be the camping. We will be in the middle of nowhere camping on snow and ice and the tents can get so cold in the night that the condensation from your breath turns to snow! Tips to keep warm include arctic sleeping bags with inner silk liners for extra warmth. We are recommended to sleep in thermals with balaclavas.
Going to the Toilet
Dig a whole and then be quick. You have to burn your toilet paper when you're done. Fabulous.
The Dogs
We will have our own pack of either five or six Husky's depending on the weight of our sled and will be responsible for feeding, harnessing and generally looking after them for the trip. The dogs are extremely powerful and can pull the sled at 20 km/h at pace or cruise at a more leisurely 10 km/h. We practised putting the harness on and the dogs just want to go and run.
Kit
Our kit list has now grown with more essentials including arctic sleeping bags, silk liners, thermos flasks, thermal clothes, balaclavas - I could go on...
After a presentation on what to expect during the trip we then were introduced to a couple of Huskies to practice setting up the harnesses and finally we were shown what kit we would be expected to take. Rather than detail out everything covered, I thought I would summarise some of the more interesting points covered:
General
It will be a tough challenge both mentally and physically but at the same time extremely rewarding. We are both now quite nervous about the trip but also very excited.
The Cold
It is going to get very cold! The lowest temperatures they have previously experienced is -36 C. We got many tips on what type of clothes to buy and how to dress to keep warm.
Camping will be Tough
By far the toughest part of the trip will be the camping. We will be in the middle of nowhere camping on snow and ice and the tents can get so cold in the night that the condensation from your breath turns to snow! Tips to keep warm include arctic sleeping bags with inner silk liners for extra warmth. We are recommended to sleep in thermals with balaclavas.
Going to the Toilet
Dig a whole and then be quick. You have to burn your toilet paper when you're done. Fabulous.
The Dogs
We will have our own pack of either five or six Husky's depending on the weight of our sled and will be responsible for feeding, harnessing and generally looking after them for the trip. The dogs are extremely powerful and can pull the sled at 20 km/h at pace or cruise at a more leisurely 10 km/h. We practised putting the harness on and the dogs just want to go and run.
Kit
Our kit list has now grown with more essentials including arctic sleeping bags, silk liners, thermos flasks, thermal clothes, balaclavas - I could go on...
Wednesday, 19 January 2011
2011 Adventure Challenge
Well 2011 is finally here and it is time to update you on the next challenge I have ahead of me. This will be the third such challenge after swimming the English Channel as a relay team and last year’s extreme triathlon.
The 2011 challenge will be quite different as I will be travelling to Norway on the 17th of April to start a 7 day husky sledding adventure which will cover 250km and end up at the ice hotel in Sweden. This challenge was the brainchild of my wife Jay who I am pleased to say will be accompanying me.
We can encounter temperatures as low as -30°C and will each be responsible for our own pack of six husky dogs that we will have to care for throughout the trip. Accommodation will consist of a tent as we will be camping out in the Arctic wilderness. This will most definitely be a no frills adventure.
The purpose of the trip will be to raise money for the Wexham Hospital Special Care Baby Unit (SCBU) which is a charity that is extremely close to both myself and my wife's heart. In August 2010 our twin daughters Ashley and Jessica were born extremely prematurely and sadly passed away only days after birth. The SCBU unit cared for our daughters from birth and the level of care and supported offered was first class.
It was the first time that I had ever encountered such a place within a hospital and to be honest I was unaware that places with this level of care even existed. The standard of care that our daughters received was exceptional as was the professionalism and compassion of the staff. The cost of the care and the associated equipment is eye wateringly expensive. Vital machinery, including incubators and ventilator equipment costs tens of thousands of pounds and the unit is limited by the amount of babies it can help by the number of machines and level of equipment it has on site.
It was the first time that I had ever encountered such a place within a hospital and to be honest I was unaware that places with this level of care even existed. The standard of care that our daughters received was exceptional as was the professionalism and compassion of the staff. The cost of the care and the associated equipment is eye wateringly expensive. Vital machinery, including incubators and ventilator equipment costs tens of thousands of pounds and the unit is limited by the amount of babies it can help by the number of machines and level of equipment it has on site.
Shortly after our experience we both decided that in order for our sad experience to have at least one positive outcome we would raise money for SCBU with the aim that the money raised would be put forward for new equipment in the hope that more vital machinery could be purchased and therefore more people helped.
The SCBU is not a place for the faint hearted but I fail to see how anybody who has ever walked into such a unit could not be emotionally touched by the great work that takes place there. You never know when you, fmaily or friends may need their vital services and skills and the money we raise will be utilised for more much needed equipment.
The entire cost of our trip has been self-funded meaning that every penny raised will go directly to the SCBU charity. All donations (no matter how small) will be received extremely gratefully. The link is below to our Just Giving page…
Thanks for taking the time to read the above, I will be updating this page with regular updates on our training for the challenge and will try to send it round every few weeks If you want to check in with what we have been up to.
Thanks again for reading and your support
Chris and Jay
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