Whilst students are making the most of their half term break, there’ll be no rest for IT lecturer Alun King when he walks from North Wales to South Wales to raise money for Help for Heroes.
Trekking the 177 miles along what is known as Offa’s Dyke is no mean feat, but Alun will be doing it in just six days, making sure he’s back in the classroom, bright and early with his class on Monday morning.
Alun, from Pontywaun, is taking on the challenge with his friend Edward Arnold. The pair, who met at university in Cardiff, will set out from Prestatyn in north Wales on Saturday 22 October and plan to arrive at Sedbury Cliffs near Chepstow six days later.
Since the start of their student days, the competitive duo have challenged one another with similar arduous tasks, but this is the first time they’ve done one for charity. “Being able to raise money as well as demonstrating a battle of wills to outdo the other will certainly keep us going. And this task seemed somehow fitting for the chosen charity, Help for Heroes. Although it’s very physically demanding for us, it’s nothing compared what servicemen do for our country.”
The pair are planning to average a challenging 30 miles per day. In order to achieve this they’ll risk sore feet, fatigue and of course the unpredictable autumnal weather, all whilst carrying their provisions and equipment including their tent, cooker and clothing. To prepare for the challenge Alun’s been walking around Forest Drive with his fully laden backpack and was recently joined by Ed for a 30 mile ‘dummy run’.
“My main concern is the weather,” says Alun, who is no stranger to such gruelling physical activity, having cycled 350 miles around the south of England in the Summer. “Dry and cloudy conditions are ideal but knowing the British weather it won’t be as straight forward as that. Rain would make it especially difficult as tasks like packing a wet tent away and cooking are so much harder in wet weather. And if you get wet, it takes a very long time to get dry again once it’s stopped raining.”
But Alun’s determined not to let the threat of wet weather dampen their spirits: “We’re very competitive, and the banter along the way will lift our spirits; it would be easier to give up if we were doing it alone but we’ve got a sense of camaraderie, somewhere beneath the one-upmanship!”
Anyone wanting to donate can visit http://www.justgiving.com/Edward-Arnold0
