Dig Deeper Race 2021

SAS International are competing in the Dig Deeper Race for the third year in a row. The race takes place in the heart of the Lakes on Friday 24th September 2021. The base will be the Youth Hostel Association Langdale in Ambleside. Steeped in history, the YHA Langdale is a sprawling Victorian mansion with breath-taking views of the Langdale Pikes and Loughrigg Fell. Perched above its own three-tier arboretum and managed by the National Trust, it’s an ideal base for Dig Deeper 6.

A true test of fitness and navigation skills, the challenge is professionally delivered by the ex-Army team at Brutal10 events. Only the fittest in the industry will compete, with the participants working in some of the top construction companies in the UK such as Wilson James and Hare.

The SAS team will travel to the YHA Langdale mansion the day before the challenge to spend time in their individual groups, planning their routes for the next day with orienteering maps. This will be followed by a briefing dinner that is held by the challenge organisers, Paul Hargreaves, Jeremy Edwards and Gavin Anderson. Although all the participants train individually beforehand, the race will require strong teamwork and collaboration.

The challenge will involve 5 hours of fell running, mountain biking and other surprise activities with varying levels of intensity, involving anything from kayaking to climbing a waterfall. There will be three teams of four from SAS, and participants will need to collect as many points as possible through skill, stamina and navigation. The team with the highest amount of points will win the challenge.

SAS are taking part in the Dig Deeper race to support two of the most influential property developers in the UK, Lipton Rogers Developments LLP and Stanhope PLC. These well-known real-estate developers are keen to raise as much money as possible for Dig Deeper’s chosen charities, Anthony Nolan and 353.

Anthony Nolan is an independent charity that is focused on growing the stem cell register with the best possible donors for blood cancer or blood disorders. They carefully invest in their work to maximise the benefit for their patients, funding and providing specialised services to support patients throughout their transplant journey. There are over 800,000 people currently on the register, and anyone between the ages of 16-30 is eligible to join.

353 is a charitable trust with the aim of helping members of the military community by delivering long-term support to a variety of charities, soldiers and their families. They are committed to guiding and supporting bereaved families who want to raise money for charities in the name of the person they’ve lost. Paul Lewis (Director & Senior Development Advisor at Stanhope PLC) created 353 in memory of his nephew, Private Conrad Lewis, who became the 353rd British soldier to become killed in Afghanistan in 2011.

The SAS team will include:

• Gert van Doormalen, Chief Executive
• Phil Smith, Sales Director
• James Donald, UK Division General Manager
• Tim Phillpot, Business Development Manager
• Matthew Gillas, Senior Project Manager
• Alan Cossey, Design Manager
• Charysse Gibbs, London Sales Executive
• Iain Ryan, Senior Estimator
• Marta Herrero, Designer
• Gavin Marsh, Product Lighting Manager
• Teri Anderson, International Sales Support
• Thomas Judges, Sales Aftercare Support

Phil Smith commented, “This is a fantastic event and opportunity to meet clients and customers that we work with within the construction industry. We are able to spend time with colleagues and take part in strategic team building, competing in a mentally and physically challenging event whilst raising money for two deeply deserving charities”.

To find out more about the Dig Deeper Race, click here.

Main image: Dig Deeper 2019

Banner image: The Lakes