In May, a brave (and arguably questionably sane) group of colleagues from SRUC Barony Campus, Dumfries and Galloway, will be tackling the National Three Peaks Challenge to raise money for CoppaFeel!, the brilliant breast cancer awareness charity with a mission to stamp out the late detection of breast cancer in young people.
Yes, that means Ben Nevis, Scafell Pike and Snowdon…
Yes, all within 24 hours…
And yes, several team members have already questioned their life choices, footwear selection, and sandwich packing strategies.
Staff from Agriculture, Faculty Administration, Engineering, Marketing, Rural Business Management, Wildlife & Conservation and Vet Nursing, have all joined forces in a cross-programme display of camaraderie. The team all agreed that we’ve “definitely walked up a hill before”, and now we’re gearing up ready for our challenge, we are certainly feeling the pressure building.
When asked why he signed up for the challenge, Doug Goldie, Engineering Lecturer reflected… “I’m basically the person who overheard half a drunken conversation, thought, “Yeah, that sounds like a brilliant idea!” and leapt in with both feet before realising how deep the puddle was!! Now I’m just standing here, soaked in regret, quietly questioning my life choices”. And yes, gin was definitely what fuelled the first conversation about this challenge at the works Christmas dinner.
The challenge also carries special meaning for one of the team.
In 2022, Lucy Thornton (Wildlife & Conservation lecturer, woodland enthusiast, and all-round tough cookie) was diagnosed with breast cancer. After chemotherapy, surgeries, radiotherapy and enough hospital appointments to fill a diary twice over, Lucy is now cancer-free and determined to give back to the charity that helped guide her through it all. The Three Peaks is a personal milestone in reclaiming her fitness, strength, and possibly her misplaced sanity. It’s also a warm‑up for something even bigger: in July she’ll be trekking 100km across the mountains of Montenegro as part of CoppaFeel!’s Coppatrek team. Because clearly, she’s forgotten what rest days are.
Lucy says… “When I mentioned to my colleagues I was taking on another Coppatrek for Coppafeel!, I assumed they would support me by taking part in my random fundraisers (think Bingo and Boobs events) because they are wonderful humans. However, I absolutely did not expect them to take it upon themselves to get right behind me by pledging to hike the National three peaks in under 24 hours. I am overwhelmed by their dedication to training, planning and getting this challenge off the ground; every single weekend they are out in the hills, putting in the miles after long days at work and sacrificing time with family to train. I feel so lucky to work with such a wonderful bunch of people”.
The hills of Dumfries and Galloway have become very familiar with weekend hikes up Grey Mare’s Tail, tough jaunts in the Durisdeer Hills, moonlight Merrick attempts, gruelling climbs up Hartfell and of course, we’ve smashed multiple hikes up Criffel. Exploring the scenery in our local area has been an unexpected highlight of this challenge. Of course, the hills can be very challenging but we also live in a beautiful area so it’s great to get out and experience what they have to offer. I’m not sure we’ll hike up Criffel again any time soon though!
When asked how tough this challenge will be, Laura Williamson, Business Support & Improvement Lead said… “It’s definitely going to be tough – no amount of training can fully prepare you for this challenge! But I know the team spirit, the laughs along the way, and the incredible generosity of everyone who has donated will keep me going when the legs start negotiating a stop”.
If you’d like to cheer the team on, keep up with their adventures whilst training and on the day, or donate to their fundraising (every pound counts — as do snacks, apparently), Click HERE
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