News / Sandy completes epic fundraising challenge
Sandy Peterson welcomed the New Year on top of Shetland’s highest hill in a bid to raise much-needed funds for charity.
The 72-year old admits that completing this latest challenge had been a “real struggle” after torrential rain and a strong northerly wind made him almost give up.
In his third fund-raising campaign of 2015, the retired teacher from Vidlin has so far generated well over £2,000.
Peterson set off from Market House, in Lerwick, at midnight on 31 December, accompanied by supporters Iain and Ben Robinson who joined him on the first 18 miles to the Vidlin junction, which they reached at 6am.
After a hearty breakfast and some rest at home he embarked on the second leg to the Ollaberry junction.
He said: “It was absolutely pouring down when I started at Voe and it was still raining when I got to Brae – and then the wind started.
“That was my meltdown moment. I was soaked to the skin, and at that point I thought ‘this is not going to happen today’.”
He said he needed to rest in the support car – driven by his wife Sheila – to consider his options.
But then the weather improved again and after a shower at home and changing into some fresh clothes, Peterson was back on the road.
He managed the stretch from the Ollaberry junction up Collafirth Hill and had a well-deserved picnic in the car before completing the final mile across the wilderness of Ronas Hill.
“The weather turned bad again and we had quite a lot of rain going up the hill, but once you get that far you always know you will get it done.
“So often in these kind of projects it is the middle that is the hard bit, and that is exactly what happened this time. My crisis was in the afternoon.
“Using fixed head torches made visibility really easy; we also had a GPS and a compass, so we just followed the instructions up the hill.
“Eventually it cleared up a bit with only some showers. The weather wasn’t great but it wasn’t bad either,” he said.
Speaking later on New Year’s Day, Peterson said had the weather been as bad as it had been during the afternoon he would not have been able to complete the challenge in 24 hours.
He added: “I think these projects also need the possibility of failure and it really is good to work hard in order to get it done.
“I think I reached my genuine old age in one day but otherwise I am fine.
“You deliberately put yourself in the public eye, and failure would have rankled me. So there is relief to have got it done, and relief that people are giving money for this cause.”
Donations can still be made through sponsor forms, at Just Giving http://campaign.justgiving.com/charity/disability-shetland/ronas, PayPal links on the charity’s website at www.disabilityshetland.com or by handing in money at Market House in Lerwick.
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