A team of 17 members from Actuarial made it back unscathed, if slightly soggy, from their Yorkshire 3 Peaks Challenge in July.
The team from London braved the elements to raise funds for 'Zurich Cares', the staff charity fund.
Trainee actuary Mark Hart, reports on the wet weekend that was a roaring success for a great cause.
"We arrived on the Thursday evening and spent the evening in a little pub while some of the team awaited their exam results, then spent the night in bunkhouses. During the night, the skies opened up! Despite the constant rain, as soon as breakfast was over, the team were in good spirits and we all made our way to the first peak. The climb up the first peak was made slightly more difficult by the weather, as the rocks became slippery and as we got nearer the top the wind added to the mix making it not only wet but also cold.
Fortunately, everyone was prepared for anything and it wasn't a problem. We made it back down safely to the first pub for lunch after around 5 hours. After the first stop the weather brightened up slightly. Clouds hung around the top of the hills to remind us it could change any second and the wind kept it cold, but the rain had at least stopped.
The group by this stage had split into two distinct groups of varying ability, this worked well to ensure the slower group didn't feel pressured and the faster group were not held back. Around 4 hours later and we were up Whernside and had scrambled down the steep steps the other side to arrive at the second pub for another brief rest.
Even those that struggled, when asked, would have a little grumble and quickly respond with "I'm definitely going to finish" which was great to hear, and they proved themselves by doing just that. All 17 members of the team that took part finished the race, with 8 coming in under 12 hours and even putting in a sprint finish at the end to make sure!
With a number of blisters, a need for sleep - and some very sore legs - all the team enjoyed a celebratory drink before heading back to the bunkhouses again for the night."
To date the team has raised a great total of £2,570. The Zurich Community Trust will now match 50% of all donations raised so the money will go even further.
| The team were: Alun Thomas, Brent Gray, Brian Gravelsons, Calvin Rappard, Gareth Stearn, Helen Pitt, James Keough, Jamie Ovett, Jessica Sharpe, Kam Klaire, Kate Newton, Laurence Townley, Lenka Rozokova, Lewis Brunt, Mark Hart, Mark Straupe, Naveet Bansal & Thomas Scales. |
