Mountain men complete Challenge

The Vauxhall Four Peaks Challenge team from County Kildare, which included Kilcullen men Mark Phelan and Enda O'Neill, ended their 48-hour endurance marathon in style this afternoon, by climbing and returning from the summit of Carrantuohill with half an hour to spare.

And, matching their experiences on the three other peaks - Ben Nevis in Scotland, Helvellyn in Cumbria and Snowdon in Wales - the elements were very much against them on the County Kerry mountain.

"We had horrendous weather on the top, the worst we have come across, we could barely stand," Mark told the Diary a short time ago, as he and Enda celebrated with their team-mate Joe Duane from Newbridge.



For all three the Challenge was a 'first', and all said they feel a 'huge sense of achievement'.

"You learn a lot about yourself when you do something like this," Mark said. "We went into this knowing that we had a lot of work put in, but did we have enough? I certainly came out of it feeling, 'yeah, I did my work'. And the great thing about it was that the three of us came across the finish line together every time, when there was an awful lot of teams had only one left."

The hardest part of the test was the lack of sleep and all the travelling. The team flew to Prestwick and then travelled in Vauxhall-supplied vehicles to each venue, and then by boat and car back to Ireland and down to Kerry.

"When you are mentally fatigued and trying to motivate yourself to climb four and a half thousand feet, and it's pouring down rain, it's not easy, so we're very proud."

The participants of the Challenge were raising money for the Rugby Union 'Wooden Spoon' charity, and each had to raise a minimum amount of sponsorship in order to take part.

"It is a charity that's well-known in England, but now they're moving in here, and help children in need."

Shattered but exultant as he talked to the Diary, Mark said he wants to go through the whole thing again next year. "I'd like to push myself to doing it as a challenge in time next year instead of just completing it."

Earlier stories:
Three mountains down, one to go
Kilcullen pair in mountain challenge

Brian Byrne.