THE GREAT KERNOW KOASTER

Members of The Great Kernow Koaster Team are: Martyn Mortimore, Michael Mahoney, Arron Pengelly, David LLoyd and Jordan Perry

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After not being healthy enough to partake in the coastal path walk and only being able to give the lads support, was soul destroying. It was my vision.

 

Then to see what the money we raised accomplished at Treliske hospital, made me proud. I can also remember saying to Larf Cornwall, they will be hearing from us in the future. Well now is the time and now we have a new adventure.

 

None of us are fit to undertake  such a challenge, with various injuries as well as medical conditions to contend with. But lacking in fitness for us comes with a strong will and determination to work through the pain barriers to help an amazing charity, who after meeting with them when we met to discuss the walk, we realised that they had been to Hell and back with losing two children to cancer. With that pain they had that determination that we feel to break out of those chains and achieve something great. So with that vision we have decided to take to the water and Kayak Three Rivers in Three Days.

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Below is how we found our inspiration to do the charity walk:

 

The idea to embark on such an adventure probably came to light, around the year of 1999. If I’m not mistaken, around the time of the solar eclipse. At school we had idea to walk from lands end to our school at Torpoint. Unfortunately because of reasons unbeknown to us, it wasn’t possible for us to do. Although we were unable to do it on this occasion, the idea never really left mine or Arron’s mind, and we have often spoke about the possibilities of revisiting our proposal.

 

Early 2015 we again spoke about the possibilities, only this time, myself and Arron felt as though, we were at a point where we may not get too many opportunities to do it again. Therefore we both agreed “now is the time”. So with a new found determination we spoke with David, Jordan and Martyn who all jumped on board with the idea.

 

Realising that this was not going to be easy or achievable alone. We spent a bit of time thinking about how we could make our adventure different to what others had done before us. So by chance I was watching Netflix and started watching “the long way down” with Ewan McGregor and Charlie Boorman. This gave me an idea, not to make a documentary, but to document our journey. In the day and age of social media. We could take photographs, small video clips, video diaries and written accounts, to share our experiences. All this in aid of a charity.

 

The charity that we have chosen to raise money for is L.A.R.F Cornwall, which stands for Lauren and Rosie’s fund. The charity aims to help teenagers and young people, under the age of 24 years, who are receiving treatment to help fight against cancer and leukaemia.

We chose this charity because; we wanted a Cornish charity to coincide with our Cornish adventure. Also back in 2010, at the age of three my son was diagnosed with leukaemia. After three years of treatment, I am very proud to say he is very well and one year clear of treatment. So that being said I feel this charity is best suited, for personal reasons.

 

There is also another person that we want to dedicate this walk to someone very special who is no longer with us and the reason we are starting the journey at St Ives. She is a true inspiration to many. She sadly lost her life to cancer, but she never complained or moaned. A couple of days before our tragic lose; she wanted a proper Mr Whippy ice cream, so with a convoy of sixteen close family members went St Ives to grant her wish. A truly inspiring day filled with laughter and reflection of the inevitable that would come, only days later. A true Cornish maid. Cornish to the core. I cannot name this lady, due to her beliefs. She hated social media and websites. Therefore I have to respect her and other family member’s wishes. But R.I.P our angel. I know you will be with us.

 

We hope that if you see us on our journey across Cornwall, you come and talk to us. We want to document the towns and villages that you reside from. We do wish that you can follow our journey on our Website, Twitter or Facebook page.

 

Again thank you for your time. Please sponsor us. It is already appreciated.

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Since the end of our first walk we have added new members to the team who are: Rich Austin, Adrian Roberts, Simon Barton and Cameron Mahoney.

these 4 jumped on board literally for our next event which was the Kayak challenge along 3 rivers.