Our group comes from Folkestone in Kent and is made up of mainly Magpies football club players both past and present. Magpies are one of the oldest teams in the Folkestone, Hythe and District Sunday Morning League. The players are joined by relatives and friends. Myself, Phil Thompson and driver for the challenge, I have run or played for Magpies for the last 25 years, and my son Nicholas, now 28, has also been involved with them since his teenage years. Travis Thrale, Steve Elkins, Tom Ganley, Ian Rowley, Brian Smissen and Graham Morris are or have been members of Magpies football club and have all known Sam since schooldays. Adam Todd and Daniel Dray are both cousins of Sam and are also an important part of Magpies today. These Magpies are joined by friends Hayley Whittle, Jess Lancaster, Don Williams and Lee Williams. Finally, my wife Kim will be joining us as navigator - the two of us being the support team!
Fundraising pageWe are raisng money for The Samantha Thompson Fund for Leukaemia research at Barts and The London Charity. Our daughter Samantha Jane Thompson was a very special person. She grew up in and around Folkestone and new most of those taking part, both freinds and relatives, in our challenge well. She loved adventure and travelled far and wide both during her Gap Year before university and afterwards with her partner Stuart(also taking part in the challenge). Although she later moved to Writtle in Essex with Stuart she retained her ties to Folkestone and the 'Magpies'. Her smile would light up the room and her laughter was like a waterfall sprinkling those around her with love and happiness. Samantha never had a sick day in her life until she was struck down with MLL a particularly virulent acute form of leukaemia in January 2009 at the age of 27. Sadly, we lost our ray of sunshine in August 2009 after an unsuccessful bone marrow transplant. Our world is now a darker place and we have joined together with Barts and the London Charity to raise money to fund research into this rare form of the disease.
Charity website28 hours and 32 minutes
The National Three Peaks Challenge takes in the highest mountains in Scotland, England and Wales, often in 24 hours.