Climbing Kili to spread smiles

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Two incredibly brave, medically minded young men, Jonathan Benton and Sanj Patel, have decided to take on the enormous personal challenge of climbing Mount Kilimanjaro on March 5th 2018, whilst raising funds for Spread a Smile.

 

They both wanted to take on a significant task which involved travel and also a great experience. Well, climbing Mount Kilimanjaro will certainly cover both of those wishes! They both completed the tough 3 Peaks challenge in 2015, however it was only over a 24 hour period, not quite as long as this climb will be!

 

They were already two strong, fit young men, however, they have significantly upped their training regimes to cope with their climb ahead, which now involves running with a 10kg weighted jacket on, plus high intensity interval training and loads of squats and lunges too! Wow!

 

Both Jonathan and Sanj were introduced to Spread a Smile by a mutual friend, and both instantly knew that it was, without doubt, the charity that they had to support. Sanj is a Consultant Anaesthetist and Jonathan runs a Medical screening company and both immediately saw the relevance and incredible help that Spread a Smile provides to very sick children and their families, at a time when they most certainly need it.

 

Although understandably, a little apprehensive about the huge challenge ahead, both Sanj and Jonathan are feeling very positive, well prepared and determined to succeed… despite a few concerns about the altitude sickness and the goal to reach the summit at the heady heights of 5,895m! They always manage to spur each other on, so we at Spread a Smile are sure that this challenge is no exception.

 

As Jonathan says “The different climatic zones, the scenery and the sense of achievement which we will both have once we have completed this mammoth challenge will totally make it all worthwhile. If we can raise a lot of money for Spread a Smile simultaneously, then we will have both managed to have ticked many items from our bucket list! We will definitely smile once we reach the top and we hope that our smiles help to spread more smiles to those children who are so deserving in hospital.”

Please click here if you would like to sponsor Jonathan and Sanj