As most of you are probably aware, Saturday 12^th July will see JCI Barnsley take on the Yorkshire Three Peaks challenge in aid of charity. Training was stepped up over Easter as we headed into the Yorkshire Dales to conquer Pen-y-ghent, the first of the peaks.

A 10 mile route was planned and once we arrived we could see that the first few miles would be the toughest. We set about the 700m ascent to the top in glorious sunshine and the views were spectacular. The further we went, the steeper Pen-y-ghent got! Suddenly what we thought would be a walk turned into a scramble to the top. Would we make it to the summit? Luckily we made it and had a sense of pride when we got there, as well as a sense of reality to what we had signed up to do in July.



The 3 miles we had done to reach the top was the equivalent of 190 flights of stairs. Rather fortunately for us the remaining 7 miles could only take us in one direction, which was downhill! We were overtaken by a few fell runners – JCI Barnsley do like a challenge but running the route rather than walking it will not be one of them!

We headed to the lovely village of Horton for an ice cream stop before the route took us along the Ribble Way, a footpath alongside the River Ribble. The temperatures were warm for mid April and the river was that clear it was very tempting to jump in! The route was strategically planned to end in a pub, the motivation of a cold refreshing drink certainly helped in the final few miles. As we sat outside the pub we not only had tired legs, but sunburn too. Hopefully 10 Indiana Jones hats will be needed in July to protect us from the sunshine, no doubt the third peak to us will be like the temple of doom!

The training is continuing most weekends. If you are interested in joining us for the challenge, or any of the practice walks, then please just let us know.

Ian Bragger
Social & Finance Director