Blood, Sweat.....and no doubt a few tears

Well here we are, 19 sleeps and counting till the trek commences. Training, it's fair to say, has certainly picked up in pace with some decent runs and walks now happening each and every day.

Last week, was the big "wake up, it's less than a month" call, and I am now in a pretty set routine of runs and walks, with the odd cycle thrown in when the legs give up :-)

Bank Holiday weekend was productive, with 46 (yip, 46) miles of runs and walks spread across the 3 days, although, I must confess, by the end of Monday night's 7 mile walk, which was hot on the heels of a 7 mile run, I was feeling it a little, and had to have a soak in the bath just to ease my poor bleeding toes lol.

In terms of my target of £1,500, I am £204 short of meeting this, and that will become my immediate focus, along with procuring all the remaining bits of kit and equipment I need before we go. If you would be interested in sponsoring me, and the Air Ambulance, please feel free to visit my Just Giving site www.justgiving.com/Dave-Cunningham and all donations, will be massively appreciated.


So the Bank Holiday is over, Tuesday (today) will be closed out with a 7 mile run, again followed by a 7 mile walk. I am definitely now going with the "No Pain, No Gain" theory, it's now a needs must training routine to increase Stamina, Over all fitness, and lose the odd pound of two.

You can keep tabs of my daily training on my facebook page, or via my weekly blog. It's my target to hit between 150-200 miles of running & walking in the next 2.5 weeks, so with that in mind, I say farewell for now.

Until the next update.

Dave

Welcome to my Mount Toubkal Blog

A very warm welcome to my blog folks. 

I have always wanted to take part in a challenge, that is just a little bit different, and earlier this year, at the grand old age of 37, I got the opportunity to join up with 19 fellow trekkers and signed up to climb Mount Toubkal in Morocco. At 13,671 ft (4,167m), Toubkal is the highest mountain in northern Africa. 

The views along the trek will make the journey more than worthwhile, and upon reaching the summit, there will be views that should be simply breathtaking. There are unrestricted views in every direction, from the Marrakesh Plain to the High Atlas in the north and as far south as the Anti-Atlas and the Sahara itself. 

We are doing this climb to raise much needed funds for the Wiltshire Air Ambulance, who need to raise £700,000 every year just to stay in the air, and provide this essential service to the rural communities in Wiltshire, with each trekker being set an individual target of £1,500 to raise.

So why a blog? Well, for me, I am treating this as a unique life experience, and want to record both the build up, the climb itself, for future posterity. 

I am really looking forward to the trek, and whilst it's going to be hard work, I am sure the rewards both personally, and for the Air Ambulance, will be more than worth the effort.

The clock is definately ticking, and we will be departing for Marrakesh very early (too early for my liking) on the morning of Monday the 19th September, so less than 5 weeks to step up the training program.

I am notoriously bad at sticking to training plans, and diets, so if this can't keep my mind focussed over the next 5 weeks, nothing will.

If you would like to support this very worthy cause, please click on my Just Giving link on the blog home page, and all donations will be very much appreciated.

Anyway, thanks for popping by, and I'll keep you all updated in the weeks ahead.

Until next time folks.

Dave