An intrepid businessman trekked from coast to coast of France to raise money for Macmillan Cancer Support. Mike Heyes, a senior consultant from Cheshire, set off on 11 July from Hendaye, a small French town on the Atlantic coast and, with the help of maps supplied from Stanfords, traversed his way across 800km of varied landscape. Forty-seven days later, having climbed a total of 40,000 metres, he enjoyed a swim in the Mediterranean.
Walking every day, except for three rest days, Mike walked an average of 20km and ascended about 1,000m each day, which he says, “The total ascent, 40,000m, is nearly five times the height of Mount Everest.” Mike adds, “The scenery was continuously breathtaking. The weather was generally kind to me, mostly blue sky days, but there were several big storms and half a dozen total white-out days, when thick cloud covered the mountains and tested my navigation skills.”
With a pack weight sometimes reaching 20kg, Mike experienced vastly varied temperatures - from sub zero in the high mountains to a steamy 35C during the last few days towards the Med. He says, “I encountered a number of problems on route, but I was totally focused on the end result and that helped me to overcome them.”
Back home, Mike says, “The experience has left me feeling strong and self-confident but very humble, in that I am very fortunate to be healthy enough to have taken on and completed this adventure. We should not forget that many people are not so fortunate. Their lives have been turned upside down by cancer, so let’s remember that the main event is raising money for Macmillan.”
Donations can be made at www.justgiving.com/mikeheyes. For more information on Just Giving, visit their site at www.justgiving.com and for Macmillan Cancer Support, visit www.macmillan.org.uk.
Author: Rachel Ricks
Date: 11 September 2007
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