Home Page Haverhill News

Despite injuries and a dangerous fall, Haverhill brothers James and Mark Purkiss have completed a gruelling walking and running challenge and raised more than £500 for charity.

Haverhill Leisure Centre manager James, 33, and his brother Mark, 47, who both live in Haverhill, completed the Lakeland 50, which is almost double the distance of a marathon.

What makes the Lakeland 50-mile event even harder is that it is on rough terrain and there's approximately 3,100m of ascent to deal with.

The Lakeland 50 is a huge 24-hour challenge, requiring commitment, drive and the ability to 'just keep going' when most folk would 'just rather not'.

James picked up a knee injury after 20 miles so had to hobble the remaining 30 miles of the challenge. Meanwhile, Mark slipped off a rock at one point which left him half hanging off the side of the rock face, a wake-up call to how dangerous the challenge was.

However the two brothers battled on and completed the challenge in 18 hours and 30 minutes, raising more than £500 for the East Anglian Children’s Hospice, with more money coming in.

James said: “It was the hardest challenge that we have both completed. The terrain was unforgiving. We had to climb over rocks, boulders, slate, through two quarries, wade through rivers and battle against extreme weather conditions.

"During the day it was extremely hot, which led to many participants to drop out due to dehydration and heat stroke, and in the evening the heavens opened and we had 12 hours of torrential rain which made conditions quite dangerous. More than 100 people dropped out of the race.

“In the end the race turned into more of a mental challenge than physical to keep going when many people around you were giving up.

"The last check point was three miles from the finish line where we were met with a 1,000ft climb to the top then a 1,200ft decent scrambling over rocks, wading through swamps and through a river. This was not a nice way to finish the race but what a relief once we reached the road to lead us to the finish line.”

Despite the challenges, the brothers are already talking about entering next year’s event and once the blisters have healed the training will begin.

If you would like to make a donation to James and Mark’s sponsored challenge for East Anglian Children’s Hospice visit www.justgiving.com/mark-jamespurkiss