Hospital team take on 1200 mile challenge in aid of charity

TWO hospital colleagues and their teammate are set to take on their biggest charity fundraising challenge yet – an epic cycle and rowing challenge in support of Worcestershire Acute Hospitals Charity and Breast Cancer UK.

Known as ‘Three Men and a Tent’, Worcestershire Acute Hospitals NHS Trust colleagues Marc Tarrant, an A&E Matron, and Dan Hastie, Lead Advanced Care Practitioner, along with their friend Nick White, will be cycling 1200 miles in 15 days.  Marc and Nick will cycle from Trafalgar Square to the Parthenon in Athens. They will travel up and over the Alps to Venice, take on the Stelvio Pass in northern Italy, (an elevation of 9,045 ft above sea level) and also the Umbrail Pass, (Switzerland’s highest pass at 8,205 ft above sea level).

The team began their challenge on rowing machines, aiming to cover around 500 miles (the equivalent of their two ferry crossings across the English Channel and the Adriatic Sea).  By rowing for 8 hours at each of the Trust’s three hospital sites – Worcestershire Royal Hospital, the Alexandra Hospital in Redditch and at the Kidderminster Treatment Centre – they achieved 190 miles. Dan, who is unable to join them on the cycling trip, will continue to row the remaining 310 miles on his rowing machine from home.

Three Men and a Tent was formed a few years ago when the friends decided to see how far they could cycle in a day, camp for a night, and then cycle home with only a tent and their personal kit. It turned out, that despite their relative lack of fitness and advancing years, they made it to Wales, and in doing so they had a good time along the way. Since then the friends have ventured further afield, Land’s End to John o’ Groats, London to Morocco, London to Rome and London to Monte Carlo.

Marc said: “Friendship is very important to us but we also realised that our ambitious challenges would be a fantastic way for us to raise as much money as possible for charity.” They have since gone on to raise almost £20,000 for charities including Winston’s Wish and Prostate Cancer. This year the team decided to support Worcestershire Acute Hospitals Charity, which supports the staff, patients and services across the county’s hospitals, and Breast Cancer UK, as each of them know someone who has had breast cancer.

Marc added: “We do this in the name of friendship and fun, to raise as much money as possible for charity, and indulge in the simple joys of travelling and exploring together.”

If you’d like to read more or make a donation visit www.threemenandatent.com or follow them on Twitter at #3menandatent

If you’d like more information on supporting the Worcestershire Acute Hospitals Charity, please visit: https://wahcharity.org/how-you-can-donate or email [email protected]. To donate a £5 one off donation, text HOSPITAL to 70450.