17th April, 3 days after Lloydy’s birthday we got the opportunity to put our First Post-Lockdown event on. With the changing face of whatever is considered normal nowadays it felt great to be able to get in the car and drive somewhere with purpose! That somewhere was Edale, the centre of Black Sheep awesomeness. The Peak district is as beautiful as it is challenging and the added bonus is, that John Nicholson, my partner in crime is local and as such it provides us with the perfect base for our events.
We determined for the first offering since 2019, we’d keep it quite light, opting for the Short Course version of the ‘Beauty & the Beast’, originally we had planned on it being around 6000ft of elevation gain, but in reality for this event it didn’t need all that gain, especially as the first climb out of Edale to Grindsbrook Clough is cheeky enough. The course then works it way around to Win Hill then across to Lose Hill and on to Mam Tor, before dropping back in to Edale.
26 Black Sheep joined us, including 2 of Lloydy’s oldest friends from his original Regiment 216 Signals, which was truly amazing, alongside another truly amazing individual being there to mark the occasion. making it even more special. We’ve always maintained that the lines between what we’re trying to achieve between the Black Sheep Project and some of the groups we belong to, Gone Tabbing and Elite Outdoor Fitness are blurred, and that becomes even more apparent when the event is supported so heavily by both groups.
Our events are very humble affairs, no pomp or ceremony, we’re genuinely grateful that something so simple in concept is embraced so enthusiastically, when in reality, those who join us, get nothing more than twitchy legs and smiles. There is no charge for taking our events on, which again goes some way to not being able to lavish supporters with Tees and medals, but we hope that by promoting donations a small amount of good done, is enough to couple the achievement felt in the legs. We’re certainly thankful for that and that we’re able to give something back.
As such, the day raised nearly £650.00 in support of SSAFA which is truly phenomenal!
We are now determined that our NEXT event the Original Black Sheep Marathon - Stairway to Heaven is our best event yet, and we can’t wait to welcome you on Saturday 12th June in Edale, have you signed up yet!?
This year all donations raised will go to support SSAFA via Karl’s JustGiving Fundraising Page for the London Marathon, Karl is running London/Manchester and New York Marathons in support of them and we hope that you’ll continue to support us to help reach the target set for SSAFA.
The aims of the project are simple, keep Lloydy’s light burning bright, give likeminded individuals an opportunity to set their own bar and support military charities by using the EVENTS and MERCH as a mean to raise funds.
Karl had a goal when we he set out on this journey to raise £100k and with every event we get a step closer to realising that goal. Thank you everyone, without you all, that wouldn’t be possible, the reality is, Black Sheep is nothing without you.
BIG LOVE!
