On Sunday 6th July ten members of our group will be running the London 5K together in an attempt to raise some awareness for ‘Cricket on Everest’.

Admittedly, 5K is not the furthest of distances, but when you take into account that we will be wearing pads, gloves and carrying bats(I am waiting to see if anyone turns up in a helmet!) it could prove tougher than your average jog.

While we would love things to get competitive between the two teams, Hillary has six people running and Tenzing has four, so the most important part of the contest has already been won….not that anyone’s keeping score(that’s 2-0 Hillary after the bleep test scores…).

The race starts at Victoria Embankment at 8:35am so if anyone can drag themselves out of bed at such an evil hour to offer their support, it will be welcomed with open arms.

This is the first of many small publicity stunts that we will be carrying out between now and April…so keep your eyes peeled!

In the last week 18 members of the two teams underwent bleep tests to measure their fitness levels, and a thoroughly unpleasant time was had by all.

I thought it only right to report the results so that everyone can have a good chuckle at how horribly unfit some of us are, while also admiring the fitness of others.

By a convenient coincidence nine members of each side took part, and the average scores made for interesting reading; team Tenzing with an average of 10.62 but Hillary taking the honours with 10.71.

An honourable mention must go to Tom Sharland who put a few people, such as myself, to shame by reaching level 13.8 with the next highest being 12.3 from our resident comedian Chris Martin, and policeman Gareth Lewis.

The aim was for all of us to be reaching level 10 by the time we depart in nine months time, so this is an encouraging start with everyone aiming to reach new heights in their fitness as well as on the mountain.

Just so everyone is aware, ten of us will be running the London 5K next Sunday(July 6th) in full cricket gear, pads, bats and all. The race starts at 8:35am so please come along and support, this should be a good way for us to raise some awareness for what we are doing. 

One thing that has become increasingly clear in recent weeks is that many of us are going to have to improve our fitness levels considerably between now and April 2009.

Reaching Everest Base Camp will be one thing, playing the match quite another. While we have joked several times about the lack of quick singles that will be taken, the competitive nature of both sides is beginning to emerge, and with it the importance of preparation.

Team Hillary and Team Tenzing are going head-to-head several times before our April 9th departure, and on Thursday the first round of bleep tests was run to gauge fitness levels….not that anyone is keeping score or anything. 

While the results so far are encouraging, it will be interesting to see how people have improved when the test is run again in several months time. For the record…I am yet to do mine and the longer I can put it off the better!

This weekend both teams had their first meetings to discuss topics ranging from the logo(watch this space), to fundraising and awareness. Leaders within the groups are making themselves known and it will be an interesting time as we build up to the naming of the captains.

A few people have been asking how to find the interview having missed it, the answer is go to the following link:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio/aod/london.shtml

The show to look for is Over and Out. We’re on from 35 minutes in… Hope you enjoy my name migrating from Gareth to Graham in 20 minutes, and Kirt being miffed at my being credited for organising the whole expedition!

Tonight Kirt and Wes went live on BBC Radio London with a 20 minute interview with Mick Collins & Phil Parry on their sports show Over and Out.

The boys tackled some basic questions on where the idea came from and the challenges facing this attempt, as well as some more lighthearted topics such as the risk of getting a dodgy decision, prospect of switch hitting. All in all a great way to launch the event to the wider public and the start to an on-going relationship with BBC London, and hopefully they will remember that Wes is actually called Gareth and not Graham!

The DJs were fascinated by what we are aiming to achieve and we hope that everyone else listening will share that enthusiasm - particularly when it comes to donating! With the donations page now live on this site we can begin the climb to £250, 000 for our two charities, and while we may not go higher than Base Camp, who knows, perhaps we can get higher than a quarter of a million!! Hopefully the offer of a free bat in a prize draw will act as an incentive.

Want to sponsor/donate?
If you heard the interview and are looking for details on sponsorship or donating please see the links on the right-hand menu for more information.

This is my first of many posts here and I have now taken ownership of maintaining the blog and keeping everyone up to speed with what is happening. We hope to have contributions from a wide range of personalities to keep the interesting content flowing.

So it looks like the ball really is rolling as we prepare for our first official public interview; tonight just after 9:30 on BBC Radio London 94.9FM. Having spoken with the lovely Emma Jones earlier today it’s been confirmed that myself and Kirt will be fielding a few questions from the hosts Phil Parry and Mick Collins. For those people not in London tune in online here. A big thanks to Team Hillary’s Charlie Bathurst-Norman who sprang this on us earlier this morning!

After some hard work and expert advice a Partner Programme has taken shape for The Everest Test and we’re now actively starting the search. So what are we looking for? Partners across various tiers, a Challenge Partner and Team Partners who will get naming rights and inventory, and operational partners to provide resource, across all elements of the Expedition, i.e. Kit, Travel, Communications and so on… The guys have been utilising their network and some amazing contacts have come in, but we’re still on the lookout for more! So if you know of any email gareth@theeveresttest.com and we’ll see what can come to fruition! Keep posted for announcements of any successful partnerships soon!

So here it is, the Everest Test Logo Design Challenge.

We’re opening up the chance to design the logo for the expedition to everyone on the facebook group, we’ve put together some helpful hints as to what we’re all looking for which follow below. We’ll select a shortlist and put them out to vote. Please email your logos to gareth@atestabovetherest.com, the closing date is June 18th.

The Everest Test 09 – Logo Design Challenge:

Background
The Everest Test is simply an attempt to play the highest altitude official game of cricket, and by default team sport, setting a world record.
It is a collaboration of approximately 45 people made up of two squads of players, umpires, and support crew including medical help!

The current branding we have is:
The Everest Test 09 – A Test Above The Rest

The design challenge:
Create a logo for the Everest Test 09.

Areas to explore:
The following key pillars are the suggested areas to explore when designing your logo. These are the key supports of the challenge. You don’t have to explore all of them, and there is no priority, but these are the essence of what the logo should represent - Everest, Cricket, British, Collaboration

Tone:
The style of the logo should represent the spirit of this expedition, which is fun and adventure!

Desired response:
Of the participants and sponsors – pride
Of people who see the logo with no understanding of the event – inquisitive

What will it be used for?
Lots of things, but it will be on most of our kit, communications to sponsors etc so we’re pretty keen for it to look super cool!

And finally:
Good luck, the top entries selected by the committee will be put up for vote and you’ll get another email then. The logo from the shortlist with the most votes will be the winner!

Google marks the Everest record with a special logo!

Today marks the anniversary of the first summit of Everest by Hillary and Tenzing and whilst we’ll be helping each other up to our highest point, when we get there it will be each for their own as the internal banter within each squad is showing the competitive nature of all involved and the solidarity people find from being part of a team. Team Hillary and Team Tenzing seem to have developed loyalties towards each of their namesakes too from what can be made out at this stage. Today however is a time to put to one side rivalries and remember how two men worked together to achieve something so great.