Belated Hoorah!

Well, it's taken 3 weeks to write this, but yes, we did it. We are officially "3 Peakers".

It is easily the most difficult challenge I have undertaken.

Ben Nevis went well, climbing it 3 hours and descending in 2.5. Visibility was extremely poor at the summit and we were delayed when forced to wait for a guide. The guide had the thickest Scottish accent and was concerned for Nicole: "You're shivering like buggery, lassie!"... that's coz you stopped us from running down!

We were all rather hyperactive seeing Kevan at the bottom who had killed a few hours in the local McDonalds nursing several coffees. On the road, sleep would soon overtake. Next thing I remember is Nicole giving navigational guidance to Kevan as he'd "zoned out" and got lost in Glasgow, despite the satnav.

Coming into Scafell Pike at 4.30am required John to resurrect his shepherding skills. There were a number of sheep sleeping on the road that didn't seem overly worried by the presence of a car. Due to the early hour and houses nearby, using the horn wasn't an option. John, a little bit too enthusiastically, jumped out of the car and heroically shooed them all off the road.

Getting out of the car at Scafell, witnessing a stunning sunrise, was a painful experience. I had doubts about my knees - they were so stiff and sore. (In fact, my whole body was stiff and sore.) And following the training hike we did on Scafell, I knew what was ahead. Scafell is steep. That was definitely my low point - trying to summon the motivation to haul my backside up that peak. But with the cheesy mantra "pain is temporary" repeating in my head, we managed Scafell in good time: just over 4 hours. Slashing the leisurely 6 hours that we did whilst training. And we got reasonable views too!

Onwards to Snowdon. We woke to relentless, lashing rain. Uh oh. It continued our whole way in, as we drove past flooding roads and swollen streams. Double uh oh. The path up the mountain had turned into streams and waterfalls. Triple uh oh. The words of advise from our mentor were ringing in our ears... we weren't going to stay dry so concentrate on staying warm and just keep moving. Stubbornly, we pushed on, stopping only to shove yet another piece of caffeine-laced energy bar in our mouths.

Exhausted and drenched, but smiling, we finished Snowdon in 3.5 hours. Hotel, shower, beer. Aaaahhhhhh.

For me, it didn't really sink in for a couple of days that we had successfully completed it. An extreme sense of achievement dawned on me. I also developed an allergy of stairs and sleeping in cars. I've been asked if I would do it again. Nope.

Just as incredibly, we have managed to raise nearly £5,500 for The Greenhouse Schools Project. As a result of the money raised by all the teams competing (over £40,000), GSP are going to launch two new programmes to engage teenagers into sport. A massive, massive thank you to everyone that sponsored us.

Photos to come... I know a lot of you are looking for proof that we did it.
Brigid