Old Boys Hike 54 Miles For Charity

On Saturday 8th June, a group of seven Old Boys pulled on their hiking boots and set off in high spirits at 7am for a trek totalling 54 miles through the Cairngorm Mountains. 

Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet news article image

The 'Magnificent 7', as the team were called, consisted of Pete Grewar (Class of 1995), George Lorimer (Class of 1990), Andrew Lorimer (Class of 1985), Nick McGill (Class of 1997), Dom Wedderburn (Class of 1991), Andrew Forrester (Class of 1992) and Struan Baptie (Class of 1992). 

A total of 54 gruelling miles through the foothills of the Cairngorms lay ahead for the group. The weather forecast was an improving picture all of the time with predicted rain not falling and mild temperatures accompanying the team throughout their hike. 

Speaking with the Old Boys' President and team member, Pete Grewar, he said "Dom and George set the pace as they took off from the starting line and disappeared into the mountains ahead, leaving almost all of the other hikers trailing in their wake! I set out to chase them down, eventually doing so at the Spittal of Glenshee, some 22 miles down the track.

"We managed to stick together as a three for most of the remainder of the hike, only stopping briefly due to some slight running repairs to feet and joints at GlenIsla."

Fast forward over 13 hours later, and Dom, George and Pete had the finish line firmly set in their sights. Crossing the final checkpoint at 8.39pm they managed to secure the prize for the fastest team - an incredible achievement! The trio placed joint 5th in the individual standings and even managed a superb sprint finish over the final 50 yards.

 

Andrew Lorimer and Andrew Forrester were not far behind their teammates, finishing joint 23rd in the individual standings in a tremendous time of 16 hours and 2 minutes. For the final 32 miles, the pair were accompanied by Andrew Lorimer's son, Lewis. 

Struan and Nick came powering through the darkness to finish joint 64th in a total of 18 hours and 41 minutes ably joined by their new found honorary teammate, Mark, who had kept their moral high since Glenshee.

When asked about his experience participating in this year's Cateran Yomp, and how he'd summit up, Pete said "it's a truly exhilarating event to be a part of and it's all in aid of an exceptionally worthwhile charity. We're already preparing for 2020's Yomp, which will be a special one as it marks the 10th Anniversary of the event. We're hopeful that a team of Old Girls may join us too!"

The Cateran Yomp is organised each year to support ABF The Soldiers Charity, which proudly provides support to soldiers, veterans and their immediate families for life. More than £300,000 has been raised so far for the 2019 Cateran Yomp with the Old Boys' team raising £4,800 themselves.

Their sponsorship page is still live; if you're interested in making a donation please click here.