NO MOUNTAIN HIGH ENOUGH FOR TEAM SHUKERS LUDLOW

Planning on getting fit this year? Running your first 5k or taking on a new challenge? How does running 50 kilometres up, over and around the gruelling Welsh mountains sound? Exciting? Ambitious? A little crazy?

For Dave Roberts and his three teammates at Shukers Land Rover Ludlow, it’s a challenge they’ll be undertaking on 20th June, as they take on the punishing Black Mountains Ultra Marathon in memory of a former colleague, Dave Brazier, who passed away to prostate cancer in 2019.

Victoria, from JLR World, caught up with Dave (chief organiser) to find out how they’re preparing for the longest run of their life:

An ultra-marathon; that’s quite the challenge. I assume you’re all keen runners?

Kind of. I run twice a week; the others need to start asap!

What motivated you to take part in an ultra-marathon with a 7000ft elevation, specifically?

We wanted to do something which would really push us, not only to raise money for Prostate Cancer UK but to challenge us to achieve something significant in Dave’s memory. I’ve done a bit of running in the last six months, but 31.3 miles over the Brecon Beacons and Black Mountains will definitely be challenging!

How are you preparing for the race?

We have a 2020 plan to run 10k every Wednesday night after work, with a 12-mile weekend run through a local trail at Mortimer’s Forest. We’re all building up the miles steadily!

What are you most looking forward to about the race?

The finish line! Although, achieving something like this, with my friends and teammates in Dave’s honour, will be a very proud moment.

What do you think Dave would make of your energetic endeavours?

Dave would have thought we were all mad, but I'm sure he would have been there to see us off and welcome us back over the line (hopefully).

How is the fundraising going so far?

So far, we’ve raised £460 of our £3,000 target; we’re going to raffle our recently acquired Fit Bit from JLR World (we were a ’12 Days of Christmas’ winner!) and a few Christmas hampers we were given. We still have some way to go to reach our goal, but we’ll ramp up our fundraising efforts this year.

What do you miss the most about Dave?

His positivity; he was always happy and a pleasure to be around and would help anyone. We all miss him very much.

Best of luck to you all, team Shukers Ludlow! A fabulous challenge and a huge achievement for a great cause. If you’d like to donate to Prostate Cancer UK and help the team reach their £3,000 goal.