18th & 19th September 2009

On 17th July 2008, our ‘baby’ brother, Simon McNamara, died suddenly, at the age of 25, while on holiday with his friends in Croatia. The cause of his death was an acute arrhythmia attack (we don’t know what caused/triggered it).

Simon was young, fit and healthy. Just weeks before he died, he had completed the 3 Peaks Challenge to raise money for The Lord’s Taverners.

Soon after Simon’s death, we – along with a group of Simon’s friends from Durham University; and from Nottingham, where he grew up – decided to complete the 3 Peaks Challenge in his honour.

So it was that we found ourselves on Friday 18th September 2009 beginning the long trek up to Fort William to start the hike up Ben Nevis.

It started hot and sunny, but by the time we finished (5 hours later) it was pitch black (thank goodness for the head torches). My Dad said we looked like miners returning from the pit!

The amazing support team were ready and waiting for us with hot drinks, bacon butties and soup – how would we have survived without them?

Then it was back into the mini buses for the long drive through the night to Scafell Pike in the Lake District.

Despite sleeping bags, eye masks and travel pillows, very few of us got any sleep and it was soon time to pile out of the buses and start climbing Scafell Pike at 4.30am (head torches on again as the sun didn’t rise until we neared the peak around 6.30am). A good bit of singing kept all 17 of us going despite the dark, lack of sleep and lack of proper food.

We completed Scafell in 4 hours and piled back into the buses (after some much appreciated sustenance from our support team). Final drive to North Wales to tackle Snowdon. Despite this supposedly being the ‘easiest’ of the 3 peaks, the other peaks and long drives had taken their toll, and everyone was incredibly weak and tired by this point. But, with a few additions to the group as support, and yet more singing along the way, we made it to the top.

It was there on the top of the final mountain that we met and talked to Mike Gatting, ex-England cricket captain and immediate Past President of The Lord’s Taverners, the charity Simon had supported during his 3 Peaks Challenge only 15 months previously.

Was it fate that he was there or just a massive coincidence? To our group it felt as though Simon was there himself, watching over us and telling us how proud he was of our success.

We took time to have a bit of bubbly at the top of Snowdon before making our way down for the final time. Two hours later we made it back to the mini buses.

We had made it – challenge completed as a full team.

It was an incredibly draining challenge, mentally and physically, but at the same time the most fantastic and amazing experience for all of us. I have never known such a brilliant team effort – an already close group of friends are now just that bit closer.

Never has a shower and bed been so welcoming. Now we’re all back home and back to work – a few minor injuries and many aching muscles. So far, we have raised almost £3,000 for CRY – well worth every painful step!

Kate and Jonny McNamara (Simon’s older brother and sister)