Sodexo team complete 930-mile challenge for charity

The pair cycled over 130 miles a day to raise £8,000 for their chosen charities. Lawton, a catering manager from Bebington on the Wirral, and Willcox, a head chef from Flixton, Manchester, cycled for a total of 60 hours, they each burned around 46,000 calories and they ascended 46,000ft in a journey that also caused them two punctures. Both Willcox and Lawton have personal links to The Prostate Cancer Charity. Willcox's father has recently undergone radiotherapy treatment at The Christie Hospital for prostate cancer and Lawton's lost his father to the disease in 1996. He was himself diagnosed with prostate cancer 12 months ago. They also raised funds for the Sodexo Foundation's STOP Hunger campaign, which aims to tackle poor nutrition in local communities across the UK. The campaign was launched in 2005 to support a number of charities involved in educating people on healthy eating and healthy lifestyles, providing healthy food to those in need, supporting those who teach basic life skills, such as cooking on a budget, and basic food hygiene. Willcox said: "It was a physically and mentally challenging ride but on the whole it was a fantastic experience and I thoroughly enjoyed it. Day six was the toughest day, we spent all of the morning climbing over the Cairngorm Mountains only to get to the other side and have to ride a further 70 miles against the wind!" "I had mixed emotions when we crossed the finish line. I was extremely proud of what we had both achieved, and also slightly sad that it had all come to an end. The challenge took many hours to plan and it is only now sinking in exactly what we achieved. "Having great friends to cheers us over the finishing line was the highlight of the week for me, their support and encouragement had been with us from the very beginning so it felt right to share the moment with them."