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Along with a team of willing volunteers from work, I'll be walking the British Three Peaks, all in less than 24 hours, on a hopefully sunny August weekend.  We're raising money for a great cause and you can see why by reading on...  

Benedict’s Dream

A few weeks before Christmas Benedict McAlister, 5, was sitting at the kitchen table with his brother and sister when his brother volunteered a dream he had the night before about the whole world being made of chocolate – the trees, houses, everything was made of chocolate. 
“Cool!” said Benedict’s sister. “I had a dream that I could fly over the tree tops and visit everyone.” We sat in silence for a while, contemplating a chocolaty world of flying, when Benedict, piped up …
“I had a wonderful dream too.”
“What did you dream?” we asked. 
“I dreamed I could run.”

The truth is, Benedict can’t run.  Nor can he jump for joy, or stamp his foot in frustration.  He can’t climb stairs, or go down them.  And he falls down and bumps his head.  Often.  Benedict has muscular dystrophy, a rare life limiting disease which causes the muscles in his body to weaken and waste.  There is no cure or effective treatment.  In the UK alone, more than 70,000 babies, children and adults are affected by muscular dystrophy.

On the 17 August 2012, I am going to join Benedict’s dad and the rest of the GE Aviation Sovereign Court Team to climb the 3 highest mountains of Great Britain; Ben Nevis (Scotland); Scafell Pike (England); and Snowden (Wales) – all in just 24 hours.  We will be walking for 26 miles up steep mountain terrain.  Ben Nevis will be climbed in the dark.  No mean feat!

As you may know, the “boys from Sovereign Court” are more Homer Simpson than Usain Bolt!  So why are we doing this?  To raise money for the Muscular Dystrophy Campaign, funding world class research into effective treatments and a possible cure.  Every pound raised by the team will go to the Muscular Dystrophy Campaign-funded research that collaborates with all associated medical institutions worldwide.  Benedict will benefit directly from this research into congenital muscular dystrophies.

So please sponsor me.  £35 funds an hour of research.  It could be in that hour that the breakthrough is made, which could make Benedict’s dream come true.

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