Hilary Bloor has competed in the World's Longest One-Day Mountain Bike Race - Grand Raid Cristalp and has successfully completed the Joss Naylor Lakeland Challenge earlier this year.

You may wonder why...........?

Since being diagonised with Hodgkin's Disease (lymph cancer) in 1995, l have done many mad running / biking races and challenges. So, after discovering ' Challenge Cancer through Adventure' through my local fell running club 'Dark Peak Fell Runners', l realised this was the charity for me and started raising money for them. l have already raised some money after the Joss Naylor but hope to raise more via this website.

So please sponsor me and help others to live their dreams!

Background to Grand Raid Cristalp From Verbier - Grimentz in the Swiss Alps and covers 131km with 4700m climb and crosses 6 valleys and must be accomplished  within strict time limits. l was one of the 33 women to start among 1000 riders who lined up on the start line. Despite appalling weather conditions, l made it to the final hurdle but admitted defeat after missing the 90km checkpoint by 10 mins. Overnight rain had made the conditions very difficuilt especially on the steeper sections, all the riders finished covered in mud and exhausted. The leaders all took between 30-60 minutes longer than previous years and 3km before the top of the final hill was unrideable so they had to carry their bikes. l was timed out at the bottom of this hill after riding for 8hrs non-stop. Results and photos at  www.grand-raid-cristalp.ch

Background to Joss Naylor Lakeland Challenge. The inaugural run from Pooley Bridge to Nether Wasdale was laid down by Joss Naylor in 1990. It traverses 30 summits with 16000 ft climb and only has two road crossings. The challenge was offered to people over 50 to complete the run in set times according to their age group. l did it in 13.25hrs and my age group target was U14hrs. l ran it on a very hot but quiet day (England was playing a World Cup match!), someone said it was 29C in the valleys, but the cool wind on the tops certainly helped along, with the gallons of water the supporters carried round for me. Thank you to everyone who helped me.

Photos on www.dpfr.org.uk

Donating through this site is simple, fast and totally secure. It is also the most efficient way to sponsor me: Challenge Cancer Through Adventure will receive your money faster and, if you are a UK taxpayer, an extra 28% in tax will be added to your gift at no cost to you.

So please sponsor me now!

Many thanks for your support.