Toes were dipped into the freezing North Sea, cyclists covered dozens of miles and six Archies were bagged all in just one day.
Archie’s Mountain Challenge a record-breaking attempt to scale every peak in Scotland that measures more than 1,000m, all 130 of them kicked off on Saturday in the form of a relay.
An intrepid team of athletes, consisting of staff from Ninewells Hospital, their friends and family, are running up the mountains in a bid to raise vital funds for Tayside Children’s Hospital’s twin operating theatres. As each peak is conquered, the team will (unofficially) name the mountains Archies.Starting with a ceremonial toe-dip in the North Sea, near Dingwall marked by a rousing bagpipe recital by Alison Geddes, a staff nurse on the children’s surgical ward at Ninewells the relay team then cycled to the foot of Ben Wyvis, where they were greeted by a crowd of cheering supporters.
They passed the relay baton Archie’s rabbit mascot to a group of hill runners who sprinted up the peak. These mega-fit athletes were followed by groups of walkers, who climbed the 1,046m mountain at a more sedate pace.Among those who reached the top was nine-year-old Isaac McCabe, who was born at 29 weeks. Isaac’s mum, Amanda, consultant paediatric surgeon at Ninewells, told me: “Today was a big day. Lots of people who have premature babies don’t know what the future holds they can be very sick. We’re building facilities for kids like Isaac in Dundee.”
Having conquered Ben Wyvis, the team cycled to and ran up Beinn Dearg, two peaks on An Teallach and two Fannichs a total of six ARCHIEs. The challenge will finish around June 20 at the Rest and Be Thankful at Arrochar.The full challenge is expected to last between two and three weeks.
See more and support the challenge by visiting www.archiesmountainchallenge.org.uk.