After a grueling few days, Mirafit’s Louis has made it back all in one piece. But taking on the Three Peaks Challenge was no mean feat.

We caught up with him amid his busy schedule to find out how he got on. Louis, you made it in one piece!

HOW DID YOU FIND IT?

Hard. Really hard. It was really satisfying to complete. To be over and done with so I don’t have to worry about it anymore. I kinda want to do something else now. Not sure what that is just yet.

You experienced some problems getting there – what happened?

We broke down twice on the motorway and were stuck for five hours. That ended up delaying what time we got into Scotland so instead of getting in at 5-6pm, we got in at midnight. So, we grabbed a late-night dinner and didn’t get much sleep.

WHAT WERE SOME OF THE ISSUES YOU FACED ALONG THE WAY?

Tiredness was one of the biggest problems when we started. It made everything hard so for the initial first mile, I just wanted to go home. After I got through the first mental barrier however, I was ok.

By the time I got to the top of Ben Nevis, I was tired and hungry, and very, very wet!

It was so cloudy and we just got wet from all the water vapour in the atmosphere. On the way down I injured both my knees and my ankle. I twisted them just walking down on the rocks which were quite slippery. I could carry on walking, but it was a struggle and very slow.I was even at the back of the group because I was so slow.

You just have to pick yourself up and continue as best you can.

One of the guys stuck with me so I wasn’t completely on my own. I made it to the bottom and then we had food and that was so good – things like fruit, crisps, sandwiches, sausage rolls, flapjacks.

WHAT MADE YOU CONTINUE?

Looking at my messages and people saying, “You can do this!”, from friends and my girlfriend. I thought, I can’t give up now, I can’t let people down, so I need to carry on.

The people around me were feeling very tired and everyone was very hungry. After having some food though, everyone perked up quite a bit.

WHICH PEAK WAS THE HARDEST?

The first one – Ben Nevis – because it was such a shock to the system. I was not prepared mentally or physically – it was really the lack of sleep. Norfolk, where I live, is so flat. So, doing the challenge for the first time, and going from doing small sprints to continuous, uphill hiking, meant I got cramp a lot which was not nice as there was no real way of dealing with it.

After that the other two weren’t too bad as I knew what I was doing, I just had to keep going.

THE SECOND HILL WAS SCARFELL. HOW WERE YOUR INJURIES BY THIS POINT?

They weren’t too bad, I had some paracetamol and some Kendal Mint Cake and I was perky for hours, which was great. So, that one I loved as it felt so much easier. It’s the one that took us into the night and we got lost. I was so hyped up though which was a complete contrast.

I surprised myself. I was at the front for pretty much the majority and I could have gone faster which I definitely couldn’t have done on the first one.

WHAT WAS SNOWDONIA LIKE?

At first, it was quite gentle. Then it became steeper at the end, so I had to use my hands to scramble up which I loved.

Once at the top, I was with a guy who injured both his ankles. It was slippery from all the water and rocks so although I was the first to the top, I was one of the last to the bottom helping him down, but that’s ok.

I took food with me too but didn’t always eat it because it was so wet.

WHAT WAS THE WORST PART OF DOING THIS CHALLENGE?

It’s so high endurance, my body has never done anything that long before. We walked for around 15 hours and the whole thing took 30 hours - including travelling. It was just the physical pain of it.

Also, not knowing when it was going to finish and not knowing where the top was. You couldn’t see where you were going so you’ve got no sense of how much more there is to go. I think having way markers would have helped mentally.

One of the hardest parts was adjusting to the range of temperatures. In some parts, it was 30 degrees. In others, it was 4 degrees. There was snow at the top of Ben Nevis and then we went back to boiling summer weather.

Adjusting was so hard – and bizarre!

WHAT WAS THE BEST PART OF DOING THIS CHALLENGE?

Meeting so many cool people. I didn’t know anyone I went up with, so it was nice to get to know some new people and talk about random things.

The other thing was just the sense of accomplishment. Knowing I did it and it not being a daunting thing anymore.

WOULD YOU RECOMMEND IT? WHY?

Yes, it’s very fun and rewarding. And if the weather is good, then you get spectacular views. It’s just a shame that I didn’t get those views because of all the cloud and rain. So, I'd like to do it again on a clearer day.

It’s a good way of burning a lot of calories too!

HOW MUCH DID YOU RAISE?

Together, we raised more than £8,500 for The Sports Factory, which will help fund all sorts of activities.

Louis is part of the Mirafit Product Development Team and also demonstrates some of our kit.

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Tags: Misc > Lifestyle