How do you fancy passing through an underwater tunnel and having to rely on somebody pulling you through from the other end?
Or literally running through fire? Or wading through chest-high water and ice to cool down?
Sounds just like a Commandos-style assault course – and that is exactly what it is.
The Sheep Dip, Inferno and Freezing Private Ryan are just three of the obstacles in this year’s Mission:Unbreakable challenge.
The course is designed in conjunction with the 2 4 Commando Engineer Regiment based at RMB Chivenor in North Devon.
Hundreds of people take part in the challenge which is a huge fund-raising event for the North Devon Hospice.
It is hoped the challenge will raise at least £80,000 to fund two nurses at the Hospice’s bedded unit.
Wollens solicitors are the headline sponsor of Mission:Unbreakable for the second year running. Wollens, formerly Wollen Michelmore, merged with Barnstaple legal firm Toller Beattie last year. Toller Beattie sponsored the challenge for the previous three years so Wollens are delighted to continue with the support.
Former Toller Beattie and now Wollens partner Mark Roome says: “It is just brilliant to be supporting the event again this year. Toller Beattie built up a reputation for being close to its community and I know it is something the new Wollens family are keen to sustain and build on in the future.
“The hospice is such a worthwhile cause. Virtually every family in the Barnstaple and North Devon area will have been touched by the Hospice in some way or the other and it deserves all the support it can get.”
Mark has taken part in four previous challenges and sees it as a great way of bringing the team closer together. “I am sure we will have no end of people wanting to join the Wollens team – won’t we?”
Wollens chief executive Chris Hart says: “We are delighted and honoured to be sponsoring this event. As Mark has said, the community is key to all that we do as a company. Toller Beattie had done a fantastic job further developing their relationship with the hospice through this event. I am sure we can help make the event even bigger and better under our new Wollens umbrella.”
Stephen Roberts, CEO of the North Devon Hospice said they are thrilled to welcome Wollens as headline sponsor for their ‘gruelling Mission.’
Constantly striving to raise funds to support their end of life care to nearly 3,000 people every year, he said the hospice, in partnership with 24 Commando, Royal Engineers based at RMB Chivenor, devised the brutal 10k course spread across Exmoor.
Last year 750 participants attacked the course and conquered the mud, marsh, rivers, hills and over 30 obstacles.
Supported by the Commandos the obstacles range from crawling under barbed wire, rope swings, slip and slides, commando jumps, fire pits as well as the infamous ‘sheep dip’.
Stephen said: “ We are delighted that following on from our relationship with Toller Beattie that Wollens are headline sponsor this year. Thanks to your sponsorship we are able to use this towards covering the cost of putting on such an event and then concentrate on supporting people to fundraise.
“Last year the event raised over £70,000 and we are very proud of the fact that now into its fifth year Mission: Unbreakable is being recognised across the region as a unique and challenging course yet open to people of all levels of fitness.”
The event takes on October 13 at North Molton. It is hoped to attract 800 ‘Unbreakables’ this year and raise over £80,000 to support the hospice’s frontline nurses.
“Amongst those 800 we hope to see several teams from across Wollens putting themselves through their paces for a fantastic cause,” said Stephen.
Registrations are now open. Find all the details at https://www.northdevonhospice.org.uk/support-us/events/missionunbreakable/
