Lands End to John O'Groats 2009 (LEJOG)

Cycle 1000 miles in 10 days, easy right? Well at least that is what 7 guys from Fulham thought!

As with most "good" ideas, it started in the pub after a few beers. The challenge; cycling from Land's End to John O'Groats (LEJOG). At first this sounded like a reasonable challenge as most, if not all, considered themselves to be reasonably fit (several marathons, triathlons, rowing events between us), so what was 1000 miles cycling??

The fact that several of them didn't own a bike, or the last bike they had ridden was one with stabilizers, coupled with the prospect of over 6 hours a day in the saddle for 10 consecutive days, the enormity of the challenge slowly dawned on them!

James, Pete, Mike, Ollie, Joe, James D and Tom have kindly chosen to undertake the LEJOG challenge to raise money for William’s Charity.

They have set up a website at www.saddlesore.weebly.com to record their adventure. Take a look and subscribe to their RSS feed, and you can sponsor them on the donation page or by emailing fundraising@williams-charity.com

Berlin Marathon 2008

Starting and finishing at the Brandenburg gate, the real,-Berlin Marathon is one of the world's greatest marathons and it promises to be an incredible event!

The real,- Berlin Marathon started in 1974, and has appeared annually ever since. The very first person to win the Berlin Marathon, Günter Hallas, still runs the marathon today and will probably be there on September 28, when the 2008 version of the race is taking place. The Berlin Marathon is part of the marathon series, World Marathon Majors, together with four other large and tradition bound races: Boston, Chicago, London and New York marathons. In the 2007 version of the real,- Berlin Marathon, 23,000 runners were cheered on by more than 1 million spectators. In the early years of the Berlin Marathon it was set in Grunewald – a large forest in West Berlin. Seven years later, the race was moved to the city centre of West Berlin, and finally in 1990 – almost one year after the Berlin Wall collapsed – the course was led through both parts of the German capital. Running through the famous Berlin icon, Brandenburg Gate, was a symbolic action that brought out tears in the eyes of many participants in 1990. The course of the real,- Berlin Marathon is well-known for its flatness, which makes the race great for first-timers and for experienced marathoners looking to beat their personal best, as well as for its sightseeing potential. The course takes runners past several of Berlin’s historic landmarks, such as the Reichstag, Potsdamer Platz, Berliner Dom, and of course the Brandenburg Gate just before the finish line. Running the real,- Berlin Marathon can feel like taking part in a modern history lesson, only with a million exhilarated fans in stead of text books, and ancient buildings mixed between modern hi-tech shops in stead of a teacher. More than one world record has been set on the flat, low-altitude course of the real,- Berlin Marathon. The latest version (2007) of Berlin Marathon featured a new world record. Ethiopian Haile Gebrselassie beat the former world record also set in Berlin in 2003 by 34 year-old Kenyan Paul Tergat. Gebrselassie took 29 seconds off the former record and finished by 2:04:26 - and now it's Ollie's turn...

The Fundraising

William's Uncle Oliver McANINCH will be running the race, and raising money for William's Star Tribute Fund.

As usual, all funds raised go to The Grand Appeal. This year, the target is £22,000 to buy a baby life support machine for St. Michaels Hospital. This is where we spent our happiest times with William, and we'd like to make a lasting and significant contribution

Click on the image below to read more about the Berlin Marathon:

You can still donate by emailing james@williams-charity.com, or pay direct using the link on the Donations page.

The Three (Four) Peaks Challenge!

The Three Peaks Challenge involves climbing the three highest peaks in the UK within 24 hours. This conveniently involves England, Scotland and Wales. The Peaks are: Snowdon (1085m) Scafell (978m) Ben Nevis (1344m) Different people will take different periods of time to do the 3 peaks. Those who are brave, noble, or just plain stupid, try to do all 3 within the space of 24 hours - The Three Peaks Challenge. There is no official body, or definition of the Three Peaks Challenge. It is generally accepted that to complete the challenge you must ascend and descend all three peaks, and drive (or be driven) between them, within 24 hours. Mountain routes used vary, but generally involve:- Ben Nevis: Tourist path, starting from the Youth Hostel in Glen Nevis. Scafell Pike: Either the corridor route from Seathwaite or the steeper, shorter route from Wasdale Head. Snowdon: Starting from the Youth Hostel in Llanberis Pass, the Pyg Track and Miners Track are the most popular routes. There are variations on the challenge, including the Three Peaks Yacht Race, where partcipants sail between the peaks. Some people do the challenge as part of a large, organised groups. Others prefer to make their own arrangments, and travel in small groups, with or without a support team. Or, if you are Ollie and his band of merry men, you may round it off at four peaks!

The Fundraising

Despite climbing a random mountain that they could see from the Snowdon Car Park only to see the 'real' Snowdon in the distance when at the summit, the Three Peaks Team completed the challenge, and raised a magnificent £1719 for William's Star Tribute Fund.

We'd like to say a really big thank you to those that took part and raised money: