Follow Ben as he takes on the challenge of hiking all the Ethels of the Peak District in a continuous journey, in his barefoot sandals.
This intense physical challenge will be the culmination of 12 months of planning, preparation & training. All to raise money for charity.
The Ethels are a collection of prominent hills that span the length and breadth of the Peak District.
The aim will be to hike them in one continuous journey, a feat that has never been achieved before.
I will have supplies dropped to me at points throughout the challenge, to keep my bag lighter and to ensure my safety.
All in my barefoot sandals in an effort to help encourage more people to transition to a barefoot lifestyle.
Meaning I will need to complete an ultramarathon every day for each of the 10 days to be successful.
To support Mental Health UK and the CPRE, two charities who perfectly align with what this challenge is all about.
I have three main drivers for taking on this challenge, and they are…
Whilst I donate regularly to charity, it has been a while since I did any sort of charity event and so I wanted to do something to be able to support causes that I really believe in.
I feel very fortunate to live in the Peak District and so the opportunity to raise money for the CPRE who shape and promote solutions for the sustainable use of land to protect and regenerate the countryside, in areas like the Peak District. They also produced the app Ethel Ready which is been extremely valuable to me in the preparation for this challenge.
As I mentioned at the top of this page, I spent a number of years of my life feeling spiritually lacklustre and hiking has been something that has always helped to improve my mental health when not feeling at my best. I have personally felt some of the effects of low mental health as well as seeing the devastating impact it can have if not dealt with. Therefore I wanted to support Mental Health UK who do great work across England, Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland to support people affected by mental health problems.
I think a lot of people will understand the need to “see what you’re capable of”. Throughout my early life I always played teams sports, or got involved in the more extreme extra-curricular activities, which all led to regular physical challenge, whether out on the sporting pitch, on weekends hiking with old fashioned, heavy tents in the pouring rain, or even being fortunate enough to go on a trip to summit Cotopaxi, which I have subsequently found out is on lists of the hardest mountains in the world.
However when working life first came around for me I was following the wrong path, spending over 6 years working in cities behind a desk. Team sport took a nose dive and living in the city I felt as though I had lost connection to the extra curricular things that truly made me feel alive. In my mid-20s I rediscovered rock climbing and this brought back my love for physical challenge and resulted in me visiting the Peak District regularly.
Around 4 years ago we ended up moving up to the Peak District and whilst I do still climb it has become hiking that I have found myself drawn to most. Then one day, I heard about the Ethels, it got me thinking, I wonder if it would be doable in a single journey. That set the seed to what became actual serious consideration around a year ago and now I have to see if I am capable of it.
The idea of this challenge as little as 7 years ago would have been completely out of the question. After years of working behind a desk and letting my hobbies slip, I hadn’t looked after myself well enough physically. I still went to the gym but I spent far too much of my life sedentary. I remember in my mid-20s wanting to get back into doing more hiking. I went to hike Cadair Idris with a friend and nearing the summit something just went in my knee, requiring my friend to carry my bag whilst I very gingerly made my way down. I had gone from feeling like a very physically resilient 18 year old to feeling like my body was breaking down under moderate physical challenge by 25.
I knew something had to change. I found posture work and barefoot shoes and have subsequently changed my lifestyle to include a lot more walking and yoga. Doing this work changed my body and my life and I couldn’t picture what happened on Cadair Idris happening to me now. I am investing in my long term physical health and want to inspire more people to do so. This is why I am doing it in my sandals, it will shock some people, it would’ve shocked me 7 years ago, but hopefully to some it will inspire them and show the you don’t have to accept pain and injury as you age.
I am looking for sponsorship for both of the chosen charities, but also corporate support in the form of gear, food, videography and publicity.
I am looking for corporate sponsorship in a number of areas to help support me with this challenge.
The team at Wildsole are kindly sponsoring me two pairs of their sandals; one pair to train in and one for the challenge. I am delighted to have them onboard as I spend so much time wearing their sandals and I really value how much they have levelled up my barefoot lifestyle since getting my first pair a number of years ago.
Brad from Firston got in touch when I first announced the challenge and offered to create and host this landing page for me. Brad does all of the website and hosting for me and my wife, Ellie and does an excellent job. Without him having a place to promote this challenge would've been much more challenging and costly, so I am so grateful.
and if you can too, then we can do a lot to help support these two charities in all of the great work that they do!
