A sting in the tail, but not for OnSide

28th August 2012 update:

We’re delighted to announce that Gavin and team finished an excellent fifth in the shorter course field after a punishing 118 hour 43 minutes.  As only four professional teams finished the longer course, this represents an achievement of which WCP AR can be extremely proud, though somehow we doubt they’ll be resting on their laurels.

The total now raised for OnSide (including GiftAid) is now more than £1,500, so a big thanks not only to WCP AR but also everyone who has donated to help OnSide to continue its work.

After all the coverage of the Olympics, you may be wondering if anything could be as difficult or inspiring as the challenges undertaken by the  athletes involved in London 2012.

An intrepid team who are taking part in the Adidas Terrex Sting adventure race in Stirling between 18 and 25 August to raise money for OnSide will be facing a gruelling five days of sleepless racing that makes them worthy of a medal in our books.

WCP AR is a mixed sex four person team, lead by Gavin Garner, who has been involved with OnSide since its inception through WCP’s project management of the construction of our Youth Zones.  It seems they’re gluttons for punishment, as WCP AR’s entry in the Terrex Sting is only one of a number of races in which they’ve successfully competed and trained for over the last 18 months.

The Terrex Sting sees competitors navigate themselves across no less than 600km of wild open terrain non-stop over the four day race, aiming to beat their competitors to checkpoints dotted along the route, with a few hours of sleep snatched here and there along the way.

Teams will cover the distance using a range of methods, including running/trekking, mountain biking, canoeing, canyoneering and some rope work.

Gavin, a former member of the English kickboxing team and lifelong resident of the Peak District, explains, ” I support OnSide for two reasons.  The first is simply to raise some money for a worthwhile cause.  I’ve seen first hand what the Youth Zones mean to young people through working with them on the projects and it really has brought home to me how important facilities like this are.  Anywhere that brings them both fun and opportunities can only be a good thing, and any money given to this cause is a wise investment.

“Secondly, I’d like to inspire young people to go after things like this.  That doesn’t mean I want to grow a new generation of Adventure Racers, but just to inspire kids to have a go and not think that things are unachievable.  When you analyse what’s involved – 100hrs non-stop, 621km course, 2hrs or less sleep per night, eating over 5,000 calories a day, hallucinating when tired – it seems to put off most people,  so I’d like to get kids thinking that nothing is out of reach.”

You can find out more about Gavin’s team and sponsor them, here.  Rather them than us, but everyone at OnSide is very grateful for their endeavours and wishes them the best of luck!