Thursday 29 January 2009

Cricket on Everest - 10 weeks and counting...

So, its been 10 weeks since I was invited to become a member on Team Tenzing in our efforts to become the world record holders for the highest ever game of field sport undertaken.

From late November I started my training, which broadly involved three 3 mile runs and an attempt to complete the 'Grim Challenge', an 8 mile cross country race along army vehicle testing tracks in Aldershot. And this is where my training ended. It only dawned on me after the race that I until until my first training run 1 1/2 weeks before, I had not been running since before my Around the World Sailing jaunt, which started in September 2007.

I was left with bad tendonitis, shin splints, and a twisted ancle, and the following two weeks saw me walking like John Wayne, despite ankle supports and walking boots. I finally managed my next run on 4th January, and with my recent success of coming 4th at Kimbo's Fantasy Fitness Farm Challenge in Herefordshire, I feel I'm slowly starting to make some progress.
Kit

We've now had some big steps forward with kit, and through the help of David Christie, have managed to get some good deals on North Face equipment. Like my sailing, I put sleeping well pretty high up the agenda, and have on order a beautifully snug down sleeping bag, which reputedly keeps you comfortable warm at -90C, not too cold at -21oC, and ensures you just about live at -36oC. I can't wait to try it out. David Kirtly has also set the ball rolling for all the MKK cricket training kit, all of which will be branded with the Everest Test Logo.
Publicity


With the help of PR agency, Captive Minds, we staged a press release in Trafalgar Square last Tuesday. Before the event, I was not sure how it was going to be received, but with the help of Captive Minds, and the backing of the Lord's Taverners, the Flicx pitch which we'll be playing on at Gorak Shep, and 70% of the expedition members present, it has gone down a storm. Media attendees included, BBC, ITV, The Times, The Daily Telegraph, Daily Mail, Express, Metro, Evening Standard, and so on. There were also a few Australian & New Zealand reporters present. We hope our luck at finding a title sponsor will leap onwards from here, and help us raise our target of £250,000 for charity.

Health

Of course we're all training hard for this, and the altitude may well affect some fairly seriously. An article yesterday from the BBC puts a few thoughts in everyone's mind, as you can read for yourself below:

A doctor in Nepal has warned a group of cricketers heading to Mount Everest to play a high altitude Twenty20 match not to over-exert themselves. Dr Buddha Basnyat, who specialises in high altitude health, said a lack of oxygen could pose a danger to the cricketers playing at a frenetic pace. The highest cricket game on record is scheduled for 21 April. A team of 50, including 22 players, will trek for nine days to reach an altitude of 5,000m for the game.
They hope to raise £250,000 (about $357,000) for the Lord's Taverners and Himalayan Trust UK charities. Dr Basnyat said the lack of oxygen at high altitudes posed a challenge to the players.

Oxygen levels at the height are only half what they are at sea level. That can produce illness, sometimes fatal, even for people not running around chasing a ball. Dr Basnyat said: "The important thing is, if people aren't feeling well and yet push themselves to play, especially if they exert themselves, that can predispose them to altitude sickness."

Dr Basnyat said if the players had headache or nausea it would "not be a good idea to push yourself." "Basically the players should listen to their own bodies." Acute mountain sickness, with symptoms such as headaches and vomiting, can easily develop into the much more serious high-altitude cerebral edema (HACE) or pulmonary edema (HAPE). If the symptoms are bad, descent is essential.

Encouraging isn't it... Although it' s best to know the risks and heed the warnings, so you are happy to make the correct choice in challenging times.

So my training continues, and as I finally move from one adventure (I've only just finished my photobook for the sailing), I ooze into another one which looks as though it'll provide memories of a lifetime, and hopefully a World Record.


NEM


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