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Boss sets sights on Kilimanjaro trek

One of A1’s directors, John Hamnett, is making final preparations for a charity trek of a lifetime to the top of Mount Kilimanjaro - by running up to 60-mile marathons.

John will fly out to Africa on 20th February for the ten-day trek to the summit of the highest free-standing mountain in the world in a bid to raise £5,000 for Weston Park Hospital Cancer Charity in Sheffield, as this is a charity that is dear to our company’s heart.

He is currently running more than 50 miles per week in preparation for the challenge and recently completed the 30-mile Hardmoors marathon on New Year’s Day. Since last summer, John has also successfully completed one 60-mile, one 40-mile and three standard distance (26.2 mile) Hardmoors marathons.

It will take him five days to reach the summit of the 19,300 ft. high mountain. As part of the preparations, John has worked out that he’s climbing the equivalent of 19 times the height of The Shard in London – which is one of our flagship projects, where we installed nearly 800 metres of chimney to support the skyscraper’s heating and hot water systems.

John signed up for the trek 12 months ago and said it’s been his lifelong ambition to climb Kilimanjaro – although experts have warned him about the perils of altitude sickness and dehydration.

“I’ve been champing at the bit to tackle the Machame Route, as it is a grade five extreme challenge – the highest level there is,” said John.

“It will be a massive test but one I’m much looking forward to because there is an opportunity to raise a lot of money for a very good cause, as Weston Park is one of only four dedicated cancer hospitals in England. A1 Flue Systems has had personal experience of the support the charity offers, and this is spurring me on to raise as much money as possible.”

“My training has been meticulous, as I know I need to look after myself – especially as there are some punishing obstacles, such as dealing with altitude sickness, the final push for the top (which is a 20-hour trek) and the extreme cold of -20 degrees Celsius at the summit.”

John has been training under the expert guidance of Retford-based OutKlass Fitness and has worked closely with endurance runner Ronnie Staton, who himself recently completed a 160-mile marathon.

When he reaches the top, John plans to unfurl a flag he has specially made with the company logo on it, which also symbolises the overseas growth of the business. A1 Flue Systems is seeing a big rise in exports, meaning the flue systems it makes in New Ollerton are being installed in buildings around the world.

For more information about John’s trek, visit his Virgin Money Giving page.

Thank you to Summit Fever Media for the picture.