We did it! Ty Hafan Welsh 3 Peaks Challenge

In my last blog post, I wrote about my plans to take part in the Ty Hafan Welsh 3 Peaks Challenge. Well I am glad to report that all of us made it up and down all three mountains as planned!

At the summit of Peak No. 3, Pen y Fan

Ready to set off at 4.33am. Looking surprisingly perky after getting up at 2.50am!

It was definitely a tough experience at times, and I think that all of Team #7Girls,3Peaks (or Team Hill.i.am to give us our official name!), pushed ourselves further than we thought we could at some point during the day. I think that this was made a lot easier by the fact that I was on such a great team. We all helped to keep each other motivated when we were finding it tough.

Getting closer to the summit of Snowdon, Wales' highest mountain

Climbing Cadair Idris

2 peaks down, 1 to go!

Another source of motivation for us all was knowing that by completing the challenge, we would be helping such a fantastic cause as Ty Hafan, our local children's hospice. When we were walking up Cadair Idris (Peak No. 2, and definitely the hardest mountain to climb), my friend Liz mentioned that £441 allows Ty Hafan to support 3 families for a day. Knowing that our fundraising target of £2,400 would help a number of families was enough to keep us going.

We celebrated the end of the challenge by doing a conga over the finishing line. As you do!

This was one of the hardest things I have ever done, which conversely makes it one of the best things that I have ever done. We clocked a time of 11 hours and 26 minutes of climbing time. Our total time including driving was 16 hours and 16 minutes. We were really pleased with that time, and also finding out that we weren't last!

Thank you to everyone who has supported our efforts so far. We really appreciate it. If you would like to help us reach our fundraising target of £2,400, you can donate in the following ways:

* 8 Girls, 3 Peaks sponsorship page

* Text donation - Text the following code: XFJD95 plus the amount to 70070. So for £1 it would be XFJD95 £1  or for £5 - XFJD95 £5

Also, a massive thank you to our drivers Mark and Scott. We couldn't have done the challenge without them both. 

Move On Up* : Ty Hafan Welsh 3 Peaks Challenge

Today's post is a slight (ok, a massive!) variation on my usual topics, but I wanted to share something that I am taking part in this weekend. On Saturday, I will be part of a team of seven girls taking part in the Ty Hafan Welsh 3 Peaks Challenge.

Ty Hafan is a local children's hospice, which provides comfort, care and support to life-limited children, young people and their families. The charity does amazing work with the families they are involved with. It is fair to say that climbing mountains is not my usual idea of fun, but I am really looking forward to taking part in this challenge and helping to raise funds for such a great cause. However hard we may find the challenge on Saturday, we all know that it is nothing compared to what the children and families at Ty Hafan have to experience. 

The challenge begins at 4:30am in North Wales when we take on Snowdon, Wales' highest peak. After that, we head to Mid Wales to tackle Cadair Idris. The Challenge is rounded off with Pen-y-fan in the Brecon Beacons. In total we will walk a distance of 20.35 miles and make a total ascent of 9,397ft (2,864m). The guide time for the event is 15 hours.

Our fundraising target is £2,400, and so far we have raised over £1,300. Our friends and family, and sometimes complete strangers have been really generous, and we really appreciate their support. If you would like to support us then there are two ways to sponsor us:

* 8 Girls, 3 Peaks sponsorship page

* Text donation - Text the following code: XFJD95 plus the amount to 70070. So for £1 it would be XFJD95 £1  or for £5 - XFJD95 £5

As well as our sponsorship page we are running a prize draw with some fantastic prizes, and will be auctioning some items. I will do another post about that, as there are lots of lovely things to be won!

I will be doing my best to tweet updates throughout the day via my Twitter account.

* 'Move on Up' by Curtis Mayfield has proved to be one of my favourite tracks on my iphone when I have been training. It always manages to keep me motivated when I feel like flagging. It will definitely be being played on numerous occasions this Saturday!