We had an interesting phone call last week from Ben.  He and his friends have set themselves the challenge of walking from Porthmadog on the north-west coast of Wales to the North Staffordshire hospital in Stoke on Trent - some 100 miles!  

Understandably, Ben wanted a few tips on how to organise such an expedition and some practice walks.  He explained that it is in aid of a friend from his football team who was treated at the hospital.  His friend was hit by a car doing 50mph as he crossed the road outside a well-known fast-food outlet.  His friend's heart stopped twice and he was in a coma for two weeks.  

So Ben and his friends are inspired to undertake this massive challenge to raise money for the Intensive Care unit, and the Jubilee weekend at the start of June is the date.  They'll be walking 25 miles a day, and camping at the end of those days too!  

This got me thinking about the up-coming bank holidays and what an opportunity they are to clock up some serious walking miles and achieve a challenge!  The Easter bank holiday is fast approaching - and in those four days off you could really fill your lungs with fresh air and make progress with any personal walking targets you may have.  Then of course there May Day bank holiday on 7th May, and the Queen's Jubilee bank holiday on the 4th & 5th June - another four day bonanza!  

Why not use the walk4life website to train for a personal challenge - over the next few weeks you can get an idea of how it feels to do further distances, and then take advantage of the bank holidays to do some lovely long walks each day!  

And, if you want to walk an equivalent distance to Ben and his friends from the football team, you can search for the challenge by using a keyword like Porthmadog or Stoke on Trent on the challenge page.