Four teams of high octane, sports enthusiasts and property professionals from construction firm, Strategic Team Group, will be racing for the finish line as they take part in the first Strategic Lions Sports Challenge on Friday 11th, Saturday 12th and Sunday 13th May 2012. The four teams of cyclists, runners, golfers and footballers, aptly named Strategic Lions, will collectively be covering 2,000 miles as they race the length and breadth of the UK on foot and bikes, play 90 holes of golf and two back to back football matches all to raise funds for Help for Heroes and Ectodermal Dysplasia Society.
The team of eight cyclists, includes Strategic Team Group’s managing director, Andy Watson and contracts manager, Stewart Loben, Damian Bourke, owner of the Orthodontist Centre plus experienced Yorkshire based road racing cyclists, 11 times Best British All Round champion Kevin Dawson, double Olympian John Tanner, top UK time trialist and CX racer Keith Murray, TT racer Chris Last and UK domestic racer, Collin Humphrey.
The riders will pedal over 1,075 miles non-stop, from Lands End to John O’Groats, through some of the country’s most challenging, dramatic and iconic scenery in the legendary ‘end to end’ race in a bid to break 36 hours. Climbing some 20,000 metres and passing through Cheddar, Somerset; Clifford, Herefordshire; Wrexham; Kendal, Cumbria; Dumfries; West Kilbride, North Ayrshire and finally John O’Groats, the riders have the extra pressure of completing the distance in less time than it takes the runners to stride out from west to east coast.
Whilst the cyclists are pedalling south to north, the runners will be pounding the streets from west to east coast covering some 238 miles with the aim of finishing in under 36 hours, and hopefully beating the cyclists! Starting in Conway in North Wales and finishing at Flamborough Head, the team of eight runners who will each run 30 miles in total. The team, which includes Strategic Team Group’s business development director Charles Tweed, finance director Ian Bowness, customer care manager and team captain Phil Lee, company accountant Sam Pitchforth, site manager Paul Cocker, quantity surveyor Dean Myers, joiner Steve Tilford and Scotts UK sales manager Rhys Henderson, will follow B roads and country lanes from coast to coast.
Avid golfers, headed by Strategic Team Group’s operations director, Gary Taylor and including contracts manager Craig Bagshaw, estimator Phil Hoskin and quantity surveyor Grant Norman will be teeing off at five different golf courses in three different countries. Playing a staggering 90 holes each and travelling over 600 miles between courses, which include Vale of Llangollen Golf Club in Wales, Brampton Golf Club in Cumbria, Roxburghe Golf Club in Scotland, Slaley Hall in Northumberland and finishing at Rockliffe Hall in County Durham.
Meanwhile on Saturday 12th May, the footballers will play two back to back matches against a Select XI of Ossett Town Football Club and Dads of the Lads Team at Ingfield Stadium in Ossett. This event will be a full family day out which will also include the juniors from Ossett Town FC playing in between matches.
The team of 15 includes Strategic Team Group’s site manager, Andy Squires whose three year old son Bailey suffers from Ectodermal Dysplasia, estimating manager Leigh Edmondson, trainee estimator Tom Nicholson, contracts manager and Ossett Town Under 10s manager Lee Broadbent, regional operations manager Richard Marshall, surveyor James Holroyd, quantity surveyors John McNeil, Scott Campbell and Matt Bentley, estimator Daryl Henderson, site managers Lee Wright, Matt Hancock, Matt Wood and James Higgs plus apprentice joiner Sam Day.
All teams will have their own dedicated support crew, headed by crew chief and key account manager, Paul Danisz, who will drive ahead of the cyclists and runners, navigate the various routes, provide all the sustenance to fuel the athletes, plus a team of sports masseurs and physiotherapists, headed by sports physiotherapist Ian Morgan, will be on hand to relieve aching muscles throughout the duration of the 36 hours challenge.
The 36 Yorkshire athletes and their respective support crews are all pushing themselves to the limit to raise funds for two charities, which are close to their hearts. The first being Help for Heroes, the charity formed to help those who have become wounded, injured or sick in the current conflicts, which has committed to fund and lead the delivery of five regional Personnel Recovery Centres across the UK, including one at Catterick in North Yorkshire. Secondly, Ectodermal Dysplasia Society, which has played a huge role in helping and supporting Strategic Team Group site manager, Andy Squires and his family, as their young son, Bailey aged three, was diagnosed with the genetic disorder when he was just 14 months old.
Commenting on the mammoth challenge, Strategic Team Group’s managing director, Andy Watson said:
“It's not often that the chance to mix adrenaline-junkie style sports, work and raising funds for charity comes along, but our team of dedicated athletes and some who were not so athletic, immediately volunteered when we initially muted the idea of a weekend of extreme challenges. I’m so proud of all who are taking part, not just the athletes themselves but all the support crew, who have given up nights and weekends to train for this event.
“Our aim is to raise as much cash as possible to boost our chosen charity’s coffers, with the added benefit of aiming to be the fittest and healthiest property solutions firm in the UK. Hopefully we’re well on our way to achieving both goals!”
For further information on Strategic Team Group visit http://strategicteamgroup.com
To make a donation visit http://uk.virginmoneygiving.com/fundraiser-web/fundraiser/sh...
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