Four man team complete marathon Lake District challenge in 24 hours (From Messenger Newspapers)

Four man team complete marathon Lake District challenge in 24 hours

12:00pm Saturday 20th October 2012 in News By Kate Banks, Reporter

FOUR fundraisers have raised over £3,000 for Francis House Children’s Hospice by open water swimming and hiking 47km across the Lake District in just 24 hours.

Father and son, Pete and Danny Ditchfield, fellow Urmston Grammar student, Adam Barker, all of Urmston, and Billy Coplin, of Bolton, decided to complete their Lakes challenge ‘after one pint too many one Friday evening’ according to Pete, but there was nothing half-hearted about their commitment to the cause.

“Poignantly at breakfast preparing for the challenge it caught our attention on the news that it was the funeral of the founder of Francis House, Sister Aloysius, that same day,” said Pete.

“Her legacy must continue and we must do mad things to make that so.”

The team of two 17-year-olds, 47-year-old Pete and 48-year-old Billy were equally sick with nerves before they embarked on the challenge, but they made good progress in their 18.2km open water swim of Windemere, although they had to swim the last two miles of the lake in complete darkness.

The team then yomped 17km from Ambleside to Glenridding, despite their exhaustion and ‘eerie’ darkness, and were then finally able to get some sleep.

Pete said: “Sticking pins in our eyes would have been preferable to pulling on a cold wetsuit and climbing back into the water at first light, but it was time to crack on and smash the last phase.”

The team completed the final 11.5km open water swim Ullswater at 2.30pm on September 7, almost 26 hours after they embarked on their marathon challenge.

To donate, visit justgiving.com/LAKES-CHALLENGE-2012.