THE CLIMB made the London Marathon feel like a fun run, I was physically exhausted and all I wanted to do was sleep.
Those are the words of Richard Stanton who climbed Mount Kilimanjaro for Warwickshire-based charity Georgie’s Gift after his best friend’s daughter sadly passed away from meningitis shortly before her second birthday.
The station commander – who worked in Coventry for nine years – joined 17 other hikers in an attempt to raise £60,000 for the charity which supports the families of those suffering from the deadly infection.
Not even freezing temperatures, altitude sickness and a severe lack of sleep would deny Richard the opportunity to stand at the summit of Africa as he battled through the elements to complete the trek with 14 others.
Standing at 5,895m tall, experts say the first signs of altitude sickness can kick in at 3,000m – something which Richard didn’t suffer from until the final day of climbing.
Describing the climb as the toughest challenge he has ever faced, Richard told The Observer he thought everything was going wrong towards the end of the climb as he was tested both mentally and physically.
He said: “One member of the team was struggling with the altitude at 2,700m – at that point you start to think ‘when’s it going to be me?’
“I was fortunate enough to not suffer at the start of the climb, though the concluding day was a real struggle for me.
“Before the final day of climbing we had a three hour break before starting a nine-and-a-half hour trek to the summit at midnight.
“Just half an hour into the walk I was suffering from headaches, sickness and pains across my body – it felt like everything was going wrong.”
Richard and his team ploughed on through the pitch black, not knowing how much ground they had covered or how much was left.
Running on just three hours sleep, the father-of-two explained how he was out of breath after every couple of steps – and at one point he did consider whether he’d make it.
He added: “I just wanted to sleep, I was physically exhausted.
“But then I remembered why I was there and eventually made it to the summit – the satisfaction was unbelievable.
“The climb was an incredibly emotional experience, I’m not a particularly emotional person but when I reached the summit it was hard not to be.”
The team had already raised more than their planned £60,000 fundraising target before setting off – and incredibly they raised an additional £50,000 to that sum, making the final fundraising sum more than £110,000.
Set up in memory of Georgie Hall, the charity’s aim is to raise awareness of the signs and symptoms of Meningitis and Septicaemia – as well as advising families to get the correct vaccinations.
Richard said: “We were all raising funds for Georgie’s Gift after my best friend’s daughter sadly passed away.
“The charity does amazing work to raise awareness of the signs and symptoms of meningitis while helping families across Warwickshire that may require support – it’s a fantastic cause.”
To support Richard and Georgie’s Gift, visit www.georgiesgift.org where information about donating to the cause is available.
