AN ADVENTUROUS father has raised almost £10,000 for injured soldiers after pledging to brave icy blizzards in a race to the Arctic Circle.
Mike Metcalf, of Swireford Road in Helsby, has spent more than 12 months standing in supermarket doorways, camping under the stars and even pulling trucks to raise cash in preparation for his ‘epic adventure’.
Now the father-of-two says he is ‘overwhelmed’ by the generosity of residents and local businesses after they helped him raise almost £10,000 for Help for Heroes months before he sets off a 14-day race from Liverpool to North Cape.
In March Mike, who works as a security engineer, will be joined by his nephew Jim Doyle along with a team of charitable explorers as they battle freezing temperatures and blistering blizzards to race 4,000 miles to the Arctic Circle in less than 14 days.
But Mike, who is no stranger to adventure, having scaled the Alps alone for Cancer Research, still needs to raise an extra £15K to hit the ‘Arctic Heroes Challenge’ fundraising target, which he says will be his greatest adventure yet.
“It is going to be incredibly tough going, we are going at a time of year when there is very limited day light and we will be coping with freezing temperatures as low as -30ºC,” said Mike.
“The locals even told us not to travel during January, they told us to leave it until later in the year, because we will be driving in the depths of winter.”
Mike has spent the past year fundraising at Delamere Forest, in supermarkets and holding fundraising stunts, including kayaking, sleeping in subzero temperatures and pulling a truck, to raise money for the injured soldiers.
Now, with the challenge just three months away, Mike is looking to gain sponsorship money to cover fuel and ferry costs so that 100% of the money raised can go to Help for Heroes.
“It has been hard work, but it never ceases to amaze me the generosity people have shown towards such a good cause,” said Mike.
“We want to give 100% of the money we raise to Help for Heroes, we don’t want them to have to contribute anything towards the trip.”
Mike will be getting a little help from Calendar Girls playwright Tim Firth and American Idol finalist Joe Slater as he holds an ‘Arctic Ball’ at The Devonshire House in Liverpool on Saturday, February 2.
The four course black tie dinner is a final fundraising push and a glittering send off for the team, seeing former Royal Marine Andy Grant, who lost his lower right leg while serving in Helmand Provence, appear as a guest of honour.
To sponsor the Arctic adventurers visit www.bmycharity.com/arcticheroeschallenge .
