24 Hours, Seven Challenges, One Goal and a Load of Fun The beautiful Forest of Dean played host to the ultimate charity adventure challenge last weekend (11/12th October) as participants from all over the UK came together to strive towards one goal – to raise money for children suffering from cancer. The competitors had 24 hours to complete seven gruelling physical and mental challenges. 20 teams of three and five individuals from all walks of life gained entry to the event by completing their first challenge – raising a minimum of £300 per person for CliC Sargent. Every entry surpassed this amount easily and raised much more than was expected of them. In return for reaching certain fundraising landmarks, participants were rewarded with vouchers that might help them during the other challenges or that would make them more comfortable. Over the course of the 24 hours the challengers ran, biked, kayaked, caved, climbed, slid, balanced and then ran some more – covering more than 26 miles in total. In between these marathon efforts of physical exertion they pitted their wits against two very challenging and time consuming puzzles, they built the strongest tower they could out of a special type of brick, they had their memories and map reading ability tested and all of this while trying not to fall asleep! The construction of the events meant that the fittest person would not be guaranteed to win. Mental ability, logic and problem solving skills would be just as important as physical prowess, as would an ability to plan ahead.
This meant that the leader board changed dramatically after each event with a number of teams and individuals taking their turn at the top. In the end the winning team was Air Tight. Their impressive performance in the Journey of Discovery put them in contention and they maintained their advantage to the end. Richard Fitzhugh of Air Tight said: “A huge thank you to all the staff, volunteers and people that put together the brilliant 24seven event. It’s hard to believe that this was the first one as it ran like clockwork – and I know how hard you all had to work, so it was incredible to see you all smiling throughout. Clearly winning it dulls the pain, but the legs will never be the same again. Having been subjected to exhaustion, both physical and mental, frustration and confusion, indecision, stress and trauma it was quite a weekend. But at the end we get to go home – and this I guess is the key point. This was a 24 hour glimpse of the sort of emotions (and never possibly on the same scale) that the patients and families that CliC Sargent helps must go through. Except, they don’t get to go home after one day of it. Great event, great fun, great fundraising, thanks to all.” The winning individual, in what was a very close run contest, was Tom Inchley from Milton Keynes. His consistency over the course of the seven challenges saw him finish ahead of Lewis Rumsey. Tom and Lewis now plan to join forces with fellow individual Darren Phillips in what should be a very formidable team for next year’s event. The total is still rising, but as things stand, the 68 competitors have raised £37,000 for CliC Sargent, which is an incredible amount and will allow the charity to continue performing their awe inspiring work. Beverley Mackenzie, Challenge Events Manager for CliC Sargent said: “I can only say thank you so much to all of the competitors for the amazing effort they’ve put in and for all the money that they have raised. This event was designed to allow people to see what they were made of and I think that every single one of them rose to the challenge. Well done to everyone and I look forward to seeing all of you next year when the event moves to a new location.” If you would like to register your interest in next year’s 24seven Challenge then please visit www.24sevenchallenge.co.uk to find out how.
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