15 July 2012

The Quad raises £5 million for charity!

260 people took part in the Great Kindrochit Artemis Quadrathlon on Loch Tay and the Ben Lawers mountain range on Saturday (14th July), reaching the milestone of £5 million pounds raised for charity since the event began 12 years ago. Billed as the UK’s toughest one-day event, conditions were perfect for the dawn swim across Loch Tay, a walk/run across seven munros (including Ben Lawers), an eight mile kayak followed by a 36 mile cycle around the loch.

After crossing the finish line to split a watermelon in two with a cavalry sword participants ended off the day dancing reels to a ceilidh band and watching a dazzling firework display on the loch shore. Now in its 12th year the Artemis Quadrathlon is dedicated to raising money for the Scottish based development charities Mercy Corps and Mary’s Meals.

David Fox Pitt, Director of WildFox Events commented. “We’re thrilled to have reached our funding target of raising £5 million pounds for good causes. Over the past 12 years Quad participants have walked a total of 10,000 munros to make a real difference to thousands of people’s lives in the world’s poorest countries.”

This year the record-breaking adventurer Mark Beaumont also took part. The winning time was set by brothers Peter and Rupert Davenport with a blistering time of ten hours and two minutes. 

This year’s event is expected to raise £200,000 to fund Mercy Corps’ work with child soldiers in a deadly, cocaine-fueled conflict has claimed hundreds of thousands of lives. There are as many as 16,000 child soldiers in Colombia and a quarter of all combatants in armed groups like the FARC are under 18 years old. Children often start service as couriers, informants and transporters of food and ammunition before moving up in the ranks, taking up arms and serving as cannon fodder on the front lines, planting landmines, and making explosives because of their small hands.

Edinburgh-based charity Mercy Corps is rehabilitating these young people and preventing the recruitment of others. They provide a safe environment for former child combatants to live and process their experiences, overcome trauma and learn how to function again in society. This is done at specialist transitional centres with a mix of psychosocial support, life skills training, sports and relaxation activities, vocational training and business start-up support.

The event is also fundraising for Mary’s Meals, an international movement that has set up school feeding programmes in some of the world’s poorest countries, providing hungry children in places such as Malawi, Liberia, Kenya, Haiti and Uganda with vital nutrition and encouraging them to learn.

There is an ‘early bird’ discount for anyone who signs up now for next year’s Artemis Quadrathlon to be held in July 2013. For more info check out www.artemisgreatkindrochit.com

Check out the stunning photos from the day on our WildFox Flikr site