We're thrilled to introduce our Fundraising Hero, Hollie, who's taking on an epic challenge to raise money for Border Terrier Welfare. It is certainly a demanding endeavour and we would love to see you get behind Hollie to encourage her effort and support her fundraising for us.
Introducing Hollie
When Hollie's workplace decided to take on the 3 Peak Challenge for the charities they support, Hollie decided to join them but chose a cause closer to her heart - Border Terrier Welfare.
Dogs have been part of Hollie's life from an early age, with her family owning first a Cairn Terrier, JJ and then a Westie called Poppy, before they made the switch to Border Terriers. Their first BT, Jake, was sadly taken too young, but their second BT, Luna is a sweet little girl who Hollie says loves to give kisses. Cookie, a BT cross has since joined their family after being rehomed as her previous owner could no longer keep her. Hollie describes Cookie as full of beans but loving a cuddle.
Although Hollie lives with her parents so there's always someone around for cuddles, but she says she is the main snack dealer for Luna & Cookie and definitely chief snuggler, as you can see from the pic below.
Not a natural runner
Hollie states "I'm definitely not a natural runner, those that know me know this Challenge is a big one for me!".
Training has been going well and with some runs already under her belt, Hollie continues, "Having completed the Brentwood fun run twice, I also did the Nuclear Races Mud Run earlier this year which was amazing! This new challenge though, is definitely a step up."
National 3 Peaks Challenge
The National Three Peaks Challenge can be completed in officially run events, or in self organised events, such as Hollie's workplace event.
The total walking distance is 23 miles (37km) and the total ascent is 3064 metres (10,052ft) - twice the ascent of the Yorkshire Three Peaks, over a similar total walking distance. The total driving distance is 462 miles.
The three mountains are:
Ben Nevis, in Scotland (1345m)
Snowdon, in Wales (1085m)
Scafell Pike, in England (978m)
Hollie will be departing for Scotland with her team on Thursday and will complete the 3 peaks in 36 hours.
Sponsor Hollie at GoFundMe
We are so grateful to Hollie for choosing to raise funds for us. Hollie says her favourite thing when she gets home from work is being greeted at the door with the Border song and dance . . . we can all relate to that one I'm sure!
You can get behind Hollie to support her fundraising efforts for us by visiting her GoFundMe page to donate to us by clicking the image below:
A vote of thanks on behalf of BTW
Chairman, Tony Wrenn, was bowled over to hear about Hollie's Challenge, saying "We are always grateful to people who support us with their fundraising, but those who go the extra mile (literally!) by taking on personal challenges such as this are amazing. The commitment to training in order to take on something outside their comfort zone is just incredible and we really hope our supporters will get behind Hollie to help spur her on through her 36 hour epic endeavour."
We thank everyone who is able to donate for this challenge and by extension help Border Terrier Welfare to support our work with Border Terriers in need.
Update: 8 September 2022
Hollie set off on the trip up to Scotland to be ready for their first peak of the Challenge of Ben Nevis tomorrow. Arriving safely she spent the evening nervous, but excited "When I get going I reckon I'll be ok . . . I hope!" she laughs. We know you've put in the hard miles training Hollie to be as prepared as you can be, so we think you've got this! 💪
As she couldn't take Luna or Cookie with her, Hollie had the next best furry friend to keep her company on her trip.
Update: 9 September 2022
8.30am
This is it! After all the hours of training, Hollie sets off from the foot of Ben Nevis for the first Peak of her 3 Peaks in 36 hours Challenge with her group. We hope you get chance to enjoy it too, Hollie!
11.30am
Hollie found it heavy going through the morning, her pace was slower than the rest of her group, so she was running much of the time on her own.
But then . . . another of our amazing supporters who had seen the social posts only turned up to cheer her on. How amazing is that - we love how the Border Terrier community get together (we're trying to confirm who they are and will credit them here once we do).
1.15pm
With that amazing pick-me-up, Hollie was spurred on to the summit of Ben Nevis, reaching it just after 1pm. She didn't want to hang around for more than a picture though as she said it was freezing cold, so then the treck back down to the bus began . . . what goes up must come down again! Sadly, with no airlift in sight, it was shank's pony all the way down again.
4.30pm
Well, the trip down was faster than the trip up (although maybe just as hard on the body albeit using different muscle groups) and Hollie made it back to the bus at around 4.30pm. With everyone on board, they were able to set off towards Scafell Pike. Obviously, the obligatory refuelling stop was required, Hollie laughs, "I think the whole menu was ordered . . . several times over, by our bus load!" We think they've definitely earned it!
They're off to their accommodation for the night for a shower and some bed rest, before their early start on Scafell Pike at 5am tomorrow! 😱).
Day 1: Ben Nevis . . . DONE! ✅
Update: 10 September 2022
Hollie unfortunately had a few falls yesterday on Ben Nevis in her bid for the top which not only hampered progress, it also meant that the trip in the bus from Scotland down to Scafell Pike was pretty uncomfortable, as her back started locking up being sat in the seats during the 6 hour or so drive.
The late arrival at their accommodation for the night meant it was straight to bed to try and catch a few short hours sleep ready for day two of the Challenge. Unfortunately, Hollie had very little sleep so getting up at 4.15am to be at their set off point for Scafell Pike by 5am was a tough one!
5.00 am
Despite the exhaustion, Hollie was ready at Scafell Pike to meet the group's pacing guide at Wasdale Head. The guide was there to keep them on track to ensure they could get up to the summit of Scafell Pike & down again in time for the bus to them to get to Snowdon to complete the Challenge on time.
Hollie pushed on, focussing on one step in front of the other and not looking up at the enormous challenge ahead, with her group encouraging her. However, with a brisk pace required and exhaustion catching up with her, unfortunately Hollie wasn't able to keep up with the pace of the guide to get all the way to the summit of Scafell and the decision was taken for Hollie to separate from the group to start down earlier so they could catch her up to ensure the bus was able to leave at their set time to get to Snowdon.
With only her own thoughts for company on her trip down, at this point Hollie was became disheartened, thinking she'd let everyone down by not getting to her second Peak. But we know you'll join us in saying she gave it her best shot and better to be safe than push too far!
It is during Challenges like these that you find out the most about yourself and interesting allies along the way! Hollie says Andy, who is also doing the trip as part of her group has been an absolute star, keeping her motivated with pep talks and encouragement above and beyond, so we give a big cheer for Andy too! The picture below shows Hollie & Andy at Wasdale just before they set off for Snowdon and we're glad to see that they're still smiling!
11.30am
Back on the bus and driving towards Snowdon for their third peak, gave Hollie some much needed rest and time for reflection. After another pep talk to avoid the negative headspace of feeling like she'd failed at Scafell, Hollie was determined to attack Snowdon with renewed vigor. Knowing that the clock wasn't ticking for that peak as it had been for Scafell and with the opportunity for a bit of rest on the bus, meant that Hollie felt more confident about taking it on.
Feeling more upbeat and hopeful, Hollie decided to give her feel a little airing out of her boots on the bus, "I even walked barefoot into the services!" she laughs. With about 4½ hours on the bus, at least it gives her feet (and the rest of her body) a bit of a chance to rest.
We know you'll all join us in cheering Hollie on for her final peak at Snowdon, so don't forget to check back to see how she's getting on! If you haven't donated already and area able to donate, please do support Hollie, it would be amazing to get her to her target (she's currently at about £800 of £1,000) to spur her on to the top of Snowdon! Just click on the image below:
5pm
The journey from Scafell Pike to Snowdon continues, as unfortunately they were stuck in traffic for some time with delays and congestion causing huge tailbacks after the M6 was closed. This has meant by the time they finally arrive in Snowdonia, it will be too late to complete their summit attempt safely before dark.
This is disappointing for Hollie and all her group, as it means they will not complete the Challenge within the 36 hour window. Sometimes circumstances just conspire against best laid plans for Challenges such as these, but they are planning to stay over and do the Snowdon attempt in the morning, to keep the three peaks element of the Challenge. The good news is that this gives Hollie more recovery time and will hopefully mean she is rested and ready to tackle Snowdon in the morning.
Update: 11 September 2022
8.30am
Amazing news just in! Hollie has made it to the summit of Snowdon this morning! We will have more detail later, but we wanted to bring you this brilliant news as soon as we heard, given that Hollie had so many challenges yesterday.
Sometimes, even with all the planning and preparation, Challenges don't go quite according to plan, but we are so proud of how Hollie has picked herself up (literally and figuratively at times!) to keep going. It's challenges like these that you find out more about yourself and those around you, as you dig deep. However, we think the mark of a truly adventurous spirit is to keep going, even when times are tough, with safety paramount always. Which is exactly what Hollie has done!
Add in the fact that Hollie has raised an amazing amount for us (and at the time of writing she's only about £150 from her target, so if you haven't donated yet, now would be a good time!) and we couldn't be more thrilled with her progress.
