Kitsons warm up for Three Peaks trek with series of charity challenges

Staff at leading Devon law firm Kitsons have taken on a trio of charity challenges in aid of Children’s Hospice South West with an ultra marathon and a firm-wide kilometre challenge covering more than 1,200km in 32 hours ahead of the mighty Three Peaks Challenge next month.

Kitsons’ Partner and Head of Property, Patrick Gaskins and Andrew Morris of Headland Finance kicked off the first challenge by completing the epic ‘Race to the Stones’ 100km trail running race in a 24 hour timeframe along the oldest path in Britain. The duo followed the footsteps of Romans, Vikings, farmers and traders along the iconic Ridgeway before passing Iron Age forts, ancient burial chambers, crossing the mighty Thames and the mystical down-lands of Salisbury plain on their way to the finish line at the 3,000-year-old stone circle in Avebury.

Next up, staff across the firm’s three offices in Torquay, Exeter and Plymouth came together for the ‘Kitsons Kilometre Challenge’ attempting to cover 909 kilometres in one day – the distance from Kitsons’ head office in Minerva House, Torquay to the foot of Ben Nevis – acting as a warm up for the Three Peaks Challenge taking place in September (Friday 6th September).

Members of staff clocked up 1,166 kilometres altogether through a combination of cycling and rowing courtesy of a temporary gym installed in the meeting rooms at the firm’s Torquay office with equipment borrowed from South Devon College for the day.

In addition, Kitsons Partner, Peter Creber led an on-road cycle from Edginswell Park, Torquay through Shaldon, Teignmouth, Dawlish and Starcross before taking a quick coffee break at the firm’s Exeter office and then heading back to Minerva House via Longdown, Chudleigh and Newton Abbot. The group of cyclists also included Darin Dodd and Sam Carter from Francis Clark, Julian Head from Pavey Group, Andy Morris from Headland Finance, and Ben Wright from Devon and Somerset Fire & Rescue.

The Three Peaks Challenge is now just weeks away. The team of 17 walkers, including seven partners from Kitsons and Will Hanbury, a partner from Bishop Fleming Accountants, will attempt to climb the three highest peaks in England (Scafell Pike), Scotland (Ben Nevis) and Wales (Snowdon) within 24 hours. They will aim to cover 24 miles of walking through uneven terrain, 10,000 feet of ascent and 450 miles of driving to raise as much money as possible for Children’s Hospice South West.

The running total stands at £1,500.00 raised through sponsorship and donations can still be made via: www.virginmoneygiving.com/Kitsons-Solicitors or at any of Kitsons’ offices (Torquay, Exeter and Plymouth).

James Cross, Managing Partner at Kitsons said: “The Three Peaks Challenge is renowned for being one of the toughest challenges in the UK and should not be taken lightly. It’s going to be tough, but as they say when the going gets tough the tough gets going! We are swapping our comfy offices for rugged mountains but we are up for the challenge and ready to go. At Kitsons we are very keen to support good causes, just look at our website to see how many we do support. We are delighted to be undertaking this challenge and in doing so hope to raise as much money as possible for the excellent Children’s Hospice South West.”

Naomi Dymond, Corporate Fundraiser for Children’s Hospice South West said: “The Kitsons team never fail to amaze us with the incredible fundraising challenges they set themselves. We need to raise more than £8 million a year to keep our three hospices running, and as we rely almost entirely on voluntary donations, the ongoing support of the whole Kitsons team is incredibly important and special to us. We shall all be rooting for the team as they embark on their Three Peaks Challenge – good luck from everyone here at CHSW!”

For more information on Kitsons visit www.kitsons-solicitors.co.uk.