05 November 2004
Online Packaging Boss Completes Challenge of a Lifetime
Chris Hutchens, managing director of Gloucestershire-based Online Packaging, has had the experience of a lifetime completing The Ultimate Endurance Challenge and raising £3,500 in support of Children Today, a charitable trust for disabled children.
The eight day event began in Cape Town, South Africa on 22 October 2004 and included cycling, hiking, kloofing (a mix of hiking and high diving), as well as kayaking.
“When I first heard of the Endurance Challenge a few years ago, the idea really appealed to me,” says Chris. “Training for a specific event is a great motivator and Children Today is an outstanding cause. I’ve met some pretty tough challenges in my business life, building Online Packaging to a £7m business, but I’ve never really experienced pushing myself to a high level of fitness, so at 47 I thought I had better do it sooner rather than later!”
Not for the fainthearted, the course involves cycling 162km through the winding mountains of the Cedarberg range, hiking 63km through the Hottentot Mountains, kloofing through Suicide Gorge and kayaking in the Hermanus Lagoon. “The only thing that worried me was muscle fatigue,” adds Chris. “Would I be able to maintain the driving pace for seven or eight days consecutively? But it was now or never.
“It was far more gruelling than I could have ever anticipated. What started out as a team of 12 ended up as only five! I had great support from my team mates and now that it’s over I can say it was a truly remarkable experience. I made it and am hoping to do another one.”
Children Today is a national charity working at a local level to provide grants for vital,
life-changing equipment for children and young people with disabilities across the UK. The money raised will go towards funding specialist equipment such as walking aids, wheelchairs, shoes, computers, sensory equipment, car seats, bath hoists and medicine pumps.
Chris usually participates in a number of charity events throughout the year, most recently in the Five Valleys Walk for the Meningitis Trust.