Consultants run and cycle 257 miles to raise money for Great Ormond Street Hospital 09-11-06

Consultants run and cycle 257 miles to raise £3637 for Great Ormond Street Hospital Childrens Charity (GOSHCC)

A team of ten management consultants has raised almost £4k for Great Ormond Street Hospital Children's Charity, with a sponsored run and cycle from it's offices in Westminster all the way down to Bideford, Devon.

The team, from Moorhouse, set up the 'Bike Run Charity Challenge' earlier this year. Divided into pairs, each team spent eight hours on the road, one hour at a time, with one person cycling and the other running alongside. The team set themselves the challenge of going as far west as they could in 40 hours, and left London at 6pm on Friday night after work. They managed a massive 257 miles, arriving tired yet victorious in Bideford, Devon at 8am on Sunday morning.

Managing Director Dom Moorhouse said that the team had spent months training for the event and worked hard to plan the logistics and route involved in getting them down to Devon. Family and friends spurred on the team by betting on how far West they would get in the allotted time.

“It was a tough physical challenge but there was a great team spirit,”tells Dom. “We went out of the city along the Thames, then the Avon and Kennet Canal, through Bath, Trowbridge and then down to Devon."

"Running through the night was the hardest part – in some rural places there wasn't a single street light and it was eerily quiet – you could hear a pin drop. Mind you, when we did arrive in Bideford on Sunday morning we got a few bemused looks from local fisherman, as a man in a dress and a guy wearing a sumo outfit went panting past!“

Moorhouse's Carol Brown partnered Dom in the race and said that the toughest part was when the heavens opened when riding across Exmoor. “Exmoor is known for having it's own micro climate – and it proved it! The rain poured down on us – but actually it was quite exhilarating to have to keep going! We all pulled together as a team and found our way to the finish line.”

Dom said that GOSHCC was a popular choice when deciding which charity to support. Representatives from Moorhouse visited the fundraising team at Great Ormond St to present a cheque for the money raised, and were given a guided tour and shown how their donation would help regeneration work at the hospital.

Matthew Forrest, Senior Fundraising Executive at Great Ormond Street Hospital Children's Charity said: “We are very grateful for the donation from Moorhouse and enjoyed hearing about the Bike Run Challenge. The monies are a great boost to our current redevelopment of two thirds of the hospital site that will see us able to treat up to 20,000 more children a year by 2010.”

Dom Moorhouse concluded, “The team had some reunion drinks last week and are already planning next year's challenge. We hope to make Lands End next time!”