As previously reported before his journey, Skelmersdale & Ormskirk College Sports tutor Andy Clayton has recently completed his Jordan Desert Trek.
Andy, along with 16 other trekkers, departed to the famous red rose city of Pertra in the Jordan desert, in which he trekked over 50 kilometres in the blazing heat over three gruelling days.
Hiking on the very edge of the Great Rift Valley, Andy crossed magnificent escarpments, gorges and canyons, following ancient hunter trails and Nabataean caravan roads, whilst spending his evenings camping in the uncomfortable heat of the desert.
Between the whole group of 17, over £36,000 was raised for Marie Curie Cancer Care, with Andy raising over £2000 personally for the event through various means of fundraising including race nights, face painting days, business sponsorship, sports massages / stone therapy treatments and collecting at the Skelmersdale United & Skelmersdale & Ormskirk College Charity Family Fun Day, recently held on November 14.
Andy pointed out that the preparation is just as important as the actual trek. “Even if you are prepared mentally, you have to prepare yourself physically for such an activity. I trained for three months in advance, including mountain walking in the Lake District, street flat walking locally along regular gym workouts, whilst also receiving regular sports massages”.
Andy’s main highlights were witnessing shooting stars for the first time in his life, he commented “I’ve never seen a shooting star in my entire life, yet, on the second night we saw two shooting stars in the same evening. It was an amazing experience”. His other highlight was actually reaching the finish line of the walk, in which he explained “just reaching the finish line was a highlight for the sense of achievement alone. It’s been a completely challenging experience for a very worthwhile charity, and I would thoroughly recommend it to others in the future”.
On behalf of the college, we would like to congratulate Andy for his hard work and achievement, and in return Andy would like to thank everyone who has donated to the cause.