Dec 17, 2009

Spoon Lead Ambassador, Jason Leonard has pledged his support to the 2010 Four Peaks Challenge and will be part of a four man team pitting their mental and physical abilities against four of the highest peaks in the home unions.

On the rugby pitch Jason Leonard was always on the frontline of the forwards battle. Never one to shirk his responsibility Leonard was the cornerstone of many victories - for both club and country as he rallied his troops for one more effort; for one last push.

Now he is preparing to rally his troops once again as he will lead a Wooden Spoon Team in next year’s Four Peaks Challenge.

One of the UK's most exhausting, exhilarating and rewarding charity challenges, the Four Peaks Challenge sees teams of three climb more than 4200 metres to the summit and back of four of the highest peaks in Scotland, England, Wales and Ireland. In less than 48 hours!

Arguably the most important member of the team is the driver who will not only navigate and drive to the peaks, but will also nurture his team members with hot food, warm clothes and of course plenty of encouragement. A role made for Jason.

“Am I worried about the responsibility of getting my team in one piece to the finish line? I’ve got no worries about the cooking, I’m a dab hand with the camping stove and I know what it takes to keep professional players on top of their game. I’m most worried about keeping all the stuff in order on the team bus – anyone who’s been on tour with me will know I’m not the tidiest of people. I can see myself scrabbling in the dark for plasters and clean socks when actually I’ve left them on the roof of the car when I drove off,” laughed Leonard.

Hidden away at a secret training camp Jason is hard at work selecting his team for the Four Peaks Challenge.

With a selection process that makes the Apprentice look like Are You Smarter than a Ten Year Old?, Leonard certainly has his work cut out for him. And while we are not privy to who is on the short list yet, we can guess who definitely did not make the cut.

“The perfect team for Jason? Well I hope he does not call me,” said Dewi Morris.

“I think he will want some fit young lads to get through this as quickly as possible – if I was picking a team I would be going for backs rather than forwards – they are quicker, quieter and they eat less too!”

Wales legend Scott Quinnell agrees with Morris…well on one thing anyway!

“I’m not answering any calls from Jason – thanks for the heads up,” said the former No.8.

“I don’t think Dewi has thought this through properly though – having speedsters is one thing but what about Jason himself?

“He is definitely going to need to get some sleep while his team are scaling the peaks – if he picks some slower and heavier forwards; well he’s going to be able to get some more sleep in. The backs may be quicker but you are going to need strength here too – it’s not a sprint and we all know the story of the tortoise and the hare.”

Just as Sir Alan Sugar has the formidable Nick Hewer and Margaret Mountford to aide him in his decisions, there is one man who Jason should be relying on too…Gareth Chilcott. Not an obvious cohort, but Chilcott knows all about the task facing Jason as he himself was the driver for a team that was put together by Gavin Hastings.

“It was meant to be a British and Irish team,” remembers Chilcott.

“Myself from England, Gavin from Scotland, Mike Griffiths the Welsh prop and it was supposed to be Simon Geoghegan but he did his ankle in so Gavin bought in another one of his Scottish boys.

“I would say to Jason not to listen to any of these fit boys who say they do the hard bit running up the mountains.

“I can assure you that the driving is the most responsible and hardest part of the whole challenge. Basically you start in Scotland and the lads run up which I must admit is very difficult - but when they come back down they are so tired all they do is eat the chocolate, drink the soup and then fall fast asleep. You think there is going to be loads of interesting conversation and witty banter - no way!

“You are on your own with only the gentle snores of your fellow team mates all the way to the Lake District. The boys wake up and off they go again - it's okay saying that you can get some sleep while you are down there, but they only take three or four hours and there are other responsibilities for you to attend to - check that the car is okay, air it out a bit and get their grub ready. The driver is the key to the success and I hope Jase is ready for it.

Chilcott is also prepared to give Jason a bit of advice on the type of vehicle that he will need.

“Big, comfortable and plenty of windows to get some air in,” advises the former England prop.

“If he has to pick one out of the three then, plenty of windows – let’s just say the aroma that comes from the back of the car can bring tears to your eyes.

Chilcott also recommends Jason to get as prepared as possible and to get ready for some strange requests.

“It is like you have three children – three tired, grumpy and very hungry kids who communicate in grunts.

“I threw myself onto the mercy of the other drivers - I had no food and no idea where I was supposed to go or what I was supposed to do. Luckily the experienced drivers took pity on me and helped me out.”

Chilcott does have some good memories of the race and says the camaraderie and spirit is something to behold and he recommends that Jason keeps a little bit of strength for the end.

“It was fantastic fun and the comradeship was unbelievable. It rained from the minute we started until the minute we ended but the party at the end was spectacular – tell Jase to prepare for that!”

But Jason is quite clear about his reasons for taking on the challenge “It’s not just about my team, its about all the other guys and girls who turn themselves inside out for the Spoon. They spend all year raising money to help disadvantaged kids and then, can you believe it, their reward is to hurt themselves over four huge peaks. I want to thank them all personally and to do that I’ll be at the bottom of every mountain seeing them off and cheering them back in. I want to be there to say a big thank you to all our volunteers. That’s what I’m really looking forward to.”

“To be fair though, I’m really up for it. Everyone tells me that it’s a great crack and ending up in Ireland with a few pints of the black stuff will make up for the sleepless nights.”

Another person who is impressed that Jason is taking on the challenge is Chilcott’s team captain Gavin Hastings.

Hastings was full of plaudits for Jason and could not say enough about how tough and how rewarding the whole event was…until he found out he was the driver.

“In that case he is a complete wimp,” laughed Hastings.

“Seriously though it is very challenging and you feel that you accomplish an awful lot in that period of time. It is a good effort to do the four peaks in 48 hours. From my perspective it was hugely rewarding when we achieved it. Jason has that sort of attitude to just get on and do it and that is the main thing – that is what you look forward to, just doing what needs to be done to finish the challenge.

“My advice to Jason then is look after your team – warm clothes, hot food and a massage would not go amiss either.”

However, above all else Gavin stresses that whatever happens never ever hand the car keys over to someone else.

“After climbing Ben Nevis we all decided to have a sleep. Coochie said it was lovely outside and said he would have a sleep outside. I immediately jumped into the driver’s seat and put the seat down flat to get really comfortable. About ten minutes later it started to rain. We had locked the doors and I had the keys and there was no way we were letting Coochie back in the van.

“You cannot predict anything on the four peaks and you have to grab your snooze when you can – nothing, and I mean nothing comes between you and a few hours kip.”

Jason, you have been warned!