The history of our challenge walks in words and pictures
Up to date financial details and other information about our fundraising activities
Annual financial details of the totals raised from our Walkers and Corporate Sponsors
Information about The Three Peaks Challenge Walk and the surrounding countryside
Information about The Chatsworth Challenge Walk, and the Chatsworth area.
Preparation, Hints & Tips
Handy tips and sound advice for tackling those demanding challenge walks
Some interesting features associated with our walks
Information about us and why we raise the sponsored funds
All the other bits we couldn’t fit in anywhere else
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chatsworthchallenge.com and threepeakschallenge.com are organisers of sponsored challenge walks to raise money for the Dave Owens and Frank Goodall Memorial Fund in support of nominated charities to fund cancer research, prevention, and treatment.
Total funds raised so far
£190,864.35
The four charities we currently represent. All of the money raised on our walks go to the four listed cancer charities to fund the research, prev-ention, and treatment of cancer.
More information >>
Including...ThreePeaksChallenge
Hill Walking Tips... wise hints and tips about preparing for your day out on the hills by our top hairy hiker and technical hill walking consultant...
The Mountain Goat
Be prepared! Think about your walk, plan your day, and you’ll fully enjoy your challenge walk. Here's a few handy preparation hints to make your day in the hills a success ...
Getting Ready For The Big Day
OK, so you've decided to take the Walk. You’re fit ... you can go twice around the park without your calves bursting, and you can beat the dog back home at two-o-clock in the morning! Before bragging that you could do it in your slippers why not take notice of these
basic preparations. They may just help you get over the course without crawling back to the final checkpoint on all fours.
Seriously, if you're planning to do well, basic fitness will get you a fair way, but you can make things much easier for yourself by optimising your preparation for the last few days before the event. You've probably put a lot of thought into your kit, so don't let yourself down by neglecting your physical preparation.
Why? Intense exercise damages your body and depletes reserves. Your heart, for example, could take up to ten days to fully recover from hitting its maximum rate during a heavy training session. Sustained anaerobic efforts can take up to four days. Intense sleep will help recovery.
On top of that, you'll also be causing micro-tears to muscles which take time to heal and depleting your liver and muscle glycogen reserves, which are crucial to fuelling the combustion of fat typically used during mountain activities. You need time to heal and replenish those reserves. High tech stuff indeed, but it’s all true.
If you miss the window, it can take much longer, a couple of days even, to regain pre-exercise levels.You can also maximise re-fuelling by eating a mix of carbohydrate and 30 per-cent protein in that window then eating more after an hour or so.
When you’re starting a walk in the morning (6.00 am start remember) your basic fuel is going to come from what you eat the night before. Ideally you want a load of carbohydrate, hence the pasta parties at marathons and other endurance races. (Don't be tempted to eat a lot of slow to digest meat or fat, which could slow digestion).
You can supplement that with a high carbohydrate breakfast, (porridge with a
deficit. Eight pints of lager the night before the walk may seem like a good idea to take in a decent amount of liquid, but you know not to do that don’t you?
The Mountain Goat
Rest Up
The principle of tapering training before events is used by all serious sports people. Good advice is to take things generally easy for the five days preceding the big day. Have a full rest the day before, and certainly no more than a light jog, easy walk, or cycle the day before that.
Eat Up
One way of keeping glycogen reserves high is to re-fuel soon after a training session. Ideally you want to get a snack into yourself within 30 minutes of finishing training, the so-called glycogen window. At this point your body is screaming for carbohydrate and getting it on board then will maximise refueling efficiency.
Drink Up
We’ve stated it elsewhere on this website many times, but it’s so important... whatever you do, don’t neglect hydration. You want to start off as hydrated as possible so keep drinking regularly the day before the event and in the hours leading up to it. Once you start feeling thirsty you’re already becoming de-hydrated. It's no use hydrating like mad during the day if you're starting off with a fluid
banana is good, and so is cereal). A full fried English breakfast isn't generally recommended, no matter how much you fancy it!
Here's a few high tech tips to make sure you're firing on all cylinders before you take to the hills.
Your challenge is to turn up, have a great day out, and raise valuable funds in support of our supported cancer charities
Our challenge walks are an annual event over 9 miles or 22 miles in the beautiful countryside around Chatsworth House in Derbyshire. It is open to anyone who wishes to join us. All we require is that you raise sponsorship for our charities, or alternatively pay a £5.00 entry fee if you don’t feel that you can raise sponsor money. Can you take the challenge?
Final words from The Mountain Goat
All these tips will help you maximise your potential on the day, but don't forget that your head has an equally important role to play. Aim to be optimistic, but not over confident. If you've prepared well and know it, you will carry a quiet self-belief into the day.
If you have genuine worries over your ability to perform, think about practical ways of dealing with them rather than allowing them to become metaphorical bogeymen. And don’t get too hyped up before the event, you'll be burning energy you'll need later.
Preparation, Preparation!
Lastly, don’t forget, getting the preparation right is half the battle. If you know you're well prepared, and you know you’re fit enough to do the walk, then why be concerned. See you on the walk.
Follow these links to the main areas associated with our event fundraising
chatsworthchallenge.com are organisers of fund raising challenge walks in support of the Dave Owens and Frank Goodall Memorial Fund to raise monies for nominated charities in support of cancer research, prevention, and treatment.
Page Acknowledgements
Text : Philip Lynskey : Gerard Mitchell
Images : Philip Lynskey
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