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Island Adventure

Colin Anderson, Wood Occupations Technician at Eastleigh College, proved his outstanding courage and stamina recently by completing a gruelling 57 mile hike in aid of Help for Heroes.

Colin set himself the challenge of walking the circumference of the Isle of Wight (57 miles in total) through the night, carrying a 45kg Bergen containing his food, water and emergency equipment, in order to raise money for the deserving charity. As if that wasn't hard enough, Colin also set himself a time limit of just 15 hours in which to complete the circuit.

Setting off at 8.30pm, the first 26 miles or so were tough but manageable. When Colin reached Yarmouth however, things changed for the worse when the heavens opened:

"I got drenched in a matter of minutes and stayed that way for the next 4 hours. The wind was a constant drain as well, at times gusting up to 60mph, which blew me to a complete standstill on more than one occasion!"

By 7am, Colin was suffering from cramp in his legs from dehydration and the cold, and by 10am he had run out of water. Despite the horrific weather conditions, losing 2 stone in body weight and catching hyperthermia, Colin made it back into West Cowes in an incredible 14 hours and 45 minutes, just inside his 15 hour target.

Colin's chosen charity 'Help for Heroes' offers practical, direct support for members of the Armed Forces who have been wounded in the service of their country. Colin raised over £400 for the charity, which he is passionate about:

"You hear on the news all the time about young people dying and getting wounded in Afghanistan and I wanted to do something to help."

Colin himself served five years in the Armed Forces, which no doubt gave him the relevant physical experience to successfully complete his challenge. He plans to repeat the hike in the Summer with a view to completing it in under 12 hours this time. In his own words; "I must be bonkers!!".

Everyone at Eastleigh College is very proud of Colin's achievements and we wish him every success with his future challenges. Anyone who would like to offer Colin last minute sponsorship in recognition of his fantastic efforts should contact him at canderson@eastleigh.ac.uk. Further details of Help for Heroes can be found at www.helpforheroes.org.uk.

Release date 26/11/2009