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The barefoot THREE PEAKS CHALLENGE
Raising awareness and charitable donations for the PSPA (Progressive Supranuclear Palsy association)
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V24.8
BAREFOOT THREE PEAKS 2024
BAREFOOT WANDERING RAISING AWARENESS AND FUNDING FOR THE PSPA
TRAINING UPDATES:
Rich And Jonny on a cold one
THE CHALLENGE
Scaling the UK's three highest peaks in under 24h.
With no shoes.
No socks either.
WHEN?
June 18th 2024.
WHY?
Raising awareness for the PSPA (Progressive Supranuclear Palsy association.
WHOSE FEET?
These feet.
These two plucky english gents are Richard Lucas, and Jonathan Grill from hampshire.
Rich and Jonny are climbing partners and have volunteered their feet for the challenge.
The Barefoot Warriors
RICH LUCAS
Rich, somewhere in Switzerland.
Rich runs Sapien Training in Sussex, and had the original notion that three peaks barefoot might be possible...
Rich is doing this for his mum Jane, who was diagnosed with PSP in 2021.
Mountain Experience?
Plenty. Climbing for +15 years in UK, Dolomites, The Alps, Asia.
Lots of experience scrambling in snowdonia, with plenty of descents on Snowdon (routes off Crib Gogh) an estimated 30+ times...
Barefoot experience?
"Iv'e lived +10 years of barefoot life, mostly through misfortune"
Rich has hiked much of the South Downs barefoot, scrambles in Wales, a mountain in Thailand and parts of the Great Wall of China.
Lost shoes in China
Tattoo brothers Rich and Chris barefoot atop Snowdon
JONNY GRILL (LIKE THE BBQ)
Postman Grill atop Ben Nevis, 2020
Jonny Grill (like the barbecue) is no stranger to walking long distances in shit shoes, the former postman is is a keen runner and strong climber (albeit with shoes).
Without them he is quite simply winging it.
Mountain experience?
Solid. Outdoor sport climbing, UK scrambling, Scottish Winter routes, and working indoor as a climbing instructor.
Barefoot experience?
At this stage we have no idea if it's possible for his soft, privately educated
feet to rise to the challenge.
Jonny, Wetherspoons
PROFILE
HEIGHT: 1344M
ASCENT: 1329m
DISTANCE:14KM
barefoot three peaks 2024
BAREFOOT WANDERING RAISING AWARENESS AND FUNDING FOR THE PSPA
PROGRESSIVE SUPRANUCLEAR PALSY
Progressive Supranuclear Palsy (PSP) is a rare neurodegenerative disease effecting around 5 in 100,000 people in the UK.
The disease causes damage, degeneration, and ultimately death of certain parts of the brain, mainly in the brain stem.
The death of brain cells in one of these areas, the substantia nigra, accounts in part for the motor symptoms that PSP and Parkinson's have in common.
It is one of a family of neurological conditions called atypical parkinsonism and belongs to the category of frontotemporal disorders.
JANE'S STORY
Jane and her family started medical investigation in 2020 after her speech slowed & a freak fall broke her arm.
She started showing physical frailty, motor control deterioration, speech & communication problems, and frequent falls.
Eventually Jane was diagnosed with PSP in 2022.
Jane was diagnosed with the condition in October 2022, and is currently in the mid-stages of the diseases progression at the time of writing (Oct 23).
Jane is mother to Andrew & Richard, wife to Mike, and the matriarch of the family.
She worked her whole adult life for the NHS, and then Macmillan cancer research before retiring in 2015.
Jane and husband Mike are moving to a bungalow in 2023 to facilitate Jane's care requirements, as this year has already sadly seen plenty of falls, physical deterioration, and decline in her speech.
THE PSPA
Jane has expressed her shock that so few people have heard of this condition.
It's rarity means there is only one UK charity associated with the condition, the PSPA, and Jane's chosen them as the charity were doing all this for.
The PSPA (Progressive Supranuclear Palsy Association) work to attain the following;
-
Enable people living with PSP & CBD and their families to live their best lives possible with high quality support and information
-
Improve the quality of life of people living with PSP & CBD through research, education and awareness raising.
PROFILE
HEIGHT: 1085M
ASCENT: 767m
DISTANCE: 14KM
ROUTE: PYG TRACK
WE CHOSE BAREFOOT BECAUSE WE BELIEVE IN IT
Empower
Growth
Barefoot walking dominates our physical history, and is as much a part of being a human being as breathing, eating, and sleeping.
It's quite literally in our bones.
Each and every one of our ancestors walked barefoot, across the harshest and wildest of terrains, without so much as a plaster.
HUMAN FEET FUNCTION BEST WITHOUT SHOES
RE:WILDING OUR GAIT
Human feet evolved to walk on earth, and stabilise our upright mechanics in all terrains.
MOVING PARTS
26 bones
33 joints
+ 100 muscles, tendons and ligaments
SENSORY FEEDBACK
+200,000 nerve endings provide feedback about our movement & position
FREE THE FEET
PROFILE
HEIGHT: 978m
ASCENT: 935m
DISTANCE: 8KM
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