Steve Prescott Carnegie Challenge

This article was by Carnegie Challenge team mate and Sunday Mirror Journalist David Burke.

NEVER has the match ball for the Rugby League Challenge Cup final endured such an arduous journey!
Steve Prescott, the former St Helens, Wakefield and Hull international full back, delivered the ball for yesterday’s showpiece after an 900 mile bike ride from Perpignan, 24 mile dragon boat paddle up the River Thames and a half marathon from Uxbridge to Wembley.
“Stevie Wonder,” diagnosed with terminal stomach cancer three years, remarkably completed every mile of the gruelling two week trek and deserved all the cheers when he completed a triumphant lap of honour at half-time with his band of intrepid adventurers.
Even searing 110 degree plus temperatures, 5am breakfast calls, 48,000 feet of tortuous climbs and crashes, which left ex Great Britain stars Gary Connolly and Lee Jackson nursing cuts and bruises, could not deter Steve and his pals.
There’s no denying it wasn’t a gruelling trip with many of the hill climbs used in the Tour de France.
There were plenty of laughs but not much partying – early nights at 10pm were the norm even for super-fit RL legends like former Great Britain stars Paul Sculthorpe, Chris Joynt, Anthony Sullivan, Steve Hampson, Connolly and Jackson.
Jimmy Gittins and Pete Stephenson, who were left paralysed after suffering broken necks playing amateur RL, deserve special praise – completing the trip on a specially adapted quad bike.
We averaged more than 80 miles a day on the bike including one marathon stint of 120 miles from Abbeville to Calais and then Dover to Ashford.
Then came the dragon boat paddle in atrocious conditions from Windsor Castle to Teddington Lock.
Torrential rain on the arduous seven hour paddle left most of the fund-raisers vowing never to sit inside a dragon boat again!
But at least we had a laugh with guest paddler Johnny Vegas, the St Helens born comedian, joining us on one leg on the Thames and entertaining the tow-path walkers and the crews with his slapstick humour.
The half-marathon yesterday drained the last ounce of energy from most of the group who expect to raise more than £100,000 for Christies Cancer Hospital in Manchester and the RFL Benevolent Fund, now known as Try Assist.
But the two week training camp left many of the 25-strong group boasting bodies like the professionals!
A customs officer at Dover was certainly impressed. He took a break from searching lorries with his sniffer dog to shout to us:”It’s all right lads I’m not looking for steroids!”
But the star of the show was Prekkie whose indomitable spirit continually lifted the group.
At the end of all 11 cycling days he even had the determination to push the pedals even faster shouting:”Sprint finish!” – and more often than not was up with the leaders!
What a trip and what a man!
• Donations to the fund can be made on the website steveprescottfoundation.co.uk

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