Sport for a Good Cause

November 2011 In a combined sporting event, four ContiTech employees have raised money for seriously ill children. The event lasted from sunrise to sundown.

An 80 km mountain bike ride, a 984 meter hike to the top of the second-highest mountain in England and a three-kilometer canoe race, all within the time-span of 13 hours starting at sunrise – these are the conditions of the Race the Sun competition held in Lake District National Park in the northwest of England. The teams taking part collect money, with the proceeds donated to a charitable organization – Action Medical Research for Children – that champions the cause of seriously ill children. This year, four ContiTech employees in the town of Wigan, west of Manchester, took part and raised around €2,300.

Neil Williams, Gary Whitworth, Barry Unsworth and Dave Livesey crossed the finish line with a time of ten hours and 29 minutes. This gave them third-place standing in their age category. “We were tired and exhausted, but ecstatic,” says Dave Livesey.

The conditions on the day of the competition were unfavorable – there was a storm, it was raining and the temperatures were well below 10°C. The organizers had to change the hiking and canoeing routes at short notice owing to the bad weather. “I was blown off my bike twice,” says Livesey, spelling out the intensity of the gusts. But the athletes gritted their teeth and battled on together. “It was worth it,” the four agree. They have regularly participated in charitable causes for over 15 years now and have collected almost €35,000 in this time.