Scaling Great Heights
Ever felt like you had a mountain to climb? Then spare a thought for an intrepid group of hikers who conquered three in 24 hours.
While most of us were kicking-back and unwinding on Saturday June 14, they began their assault on the highest summits in England, Scotland and Wales - and finished with 38 minutes to spare!
Team Marston's Three Peaks Challenge involved clambering up and down Ben Nevis in Scotland (1344m), Scafell Pike in England (978m) and Snowdon in Wales (1085m).
They completed the Three Peaks Challenge in a time of 23 hours and 22 minutes, finishing at Pen Y Pass car park at 3.22 p.m. on Sunday June 15th, after changing their start time to 4 p.m. the preceding day.
This was a daunting task, especially when you consider that the driving time alone was around 10 hours, and until a proper training regime was imposed, the majority of the seven team members confessed to struggling to climb the stairs!
But what spurred on the Totton-based team from the independent brewing and pub retailing business was the fact that their valiant efforts will benefit worthy causes.
And for one woman who was spearheading the support team, the challenge has been something of a personal crusade.
Jackie Gilmore, who used to work in telesales at Marston's, was at the vanguard of fundraising after her younger son Ryan died suddenly in his sleep on March 23rd , 2007, at the 
age of 12.
Post-mortem results revealed that the sports-mad Hounsdown School pupil died because his heart was three times the size it should have been.
Ryan had been a fit boy who enjoyed playing cricket and football. But unbeknown to him and his family he had been suffering from a condition called hypertrophic cardiomyopathy which causes a thickening of the heart muscle, affecting its ability to pump blood properly.
Medics have suggested that Ryan would have been born with the condition and that it often went undetected.
"No-one would have known that he had this condition unless he had gone for a heart scan - so it was like a time bomb waiting to happen," said his mother.
Horrified to learn more about the statistics of sudden cardiac deaths in apparently fit youngsters, Jackie's boss Tony Cheater came up with the idea of the Three Peaks Challenge to raise money for the charity.
Jackie and her husband Tony were only too happy to support any initiative which helped to raise funds for Wessex Heartbeat in memory of their son and in order to prevent future tragedies.
And Ryan's elder brother Marc was also taking part in the Three Peaks Challenge. The 17-year-old who is studying to be an electrician at Southampton City College was the youngest member of the climbing team.
The other climbers were: Tony Cheater, Shaban Murati, Sean Smith, Nigel Langridge, Chris Symons, Mark Abraham and Craig Edge.
Sponsorship money raised will be divided between Wessex Heartbeat, Wessex Neurological Unit and The Mountain Rescue Services of England, Scotland and Wales.
Anyone still wishing to donate money or find out more information about Team Marston's Three Peaks Challenge is asked to visit:
http://www.freewebs.com/3peakschallenge/index.htm
The Three Peaks Team  Back row left to right: Shaban Murati, Sean Smith, Tony Cheater Front row left to right: Marc Gilmore, Chris Symons, Mark Abraham, Craig Edge |
