Now that the Christmas period of lazing around and eating too many goodies is properly over many of us are planning (from the comfort of our sofas!) on getting a bit fitter in the New Year. But for those of you who have already signed up for the Down Syndrome Centre Inca Trail Challenge this is when the real training starts!

We are holding our next information evening for the group on Thursday 21st January 2010 in Fitzpatrick's Castle Hotel, in Killiney. On the night we will have two voices of experience to fill you in on what to expect next April. Both Aoife and Joe have previously travelled to Peru and successfully completed the Inca Trail. They are both more than happy to answer any questions or queries you may have. We will also be discussing the various aspects of your fundraising strategies, and how we in the charity can support you.

As you know the balance of payment for the trip is due before Friday 19th February. If any of you would like to pay this at the information evening we will be available to receive cheques.

Gary Owens will also be briefing you on the training sessions he is organising in preparation for the Challenge.
He is organising 6 long training walks, which are designed to give you the stamina you will need to complete the Inca Trail. On Day 2 and 3 of the Challenge you will be walking for 6/7 hours, climbing from 11,000 ft to 13,000ft. While this is two and a half times the ascent that will be covered in the training you will be ready to do so if you complete the training, and it will of course significantly improve your fitness levels.

The dates for the walks are:

Sunday 17th January
Sunday 13th January
Sunday 28th February
Sunday 14th March
Sunday 28th March
Sunday 11th April

The group will meet each week at 8.30am either in Enniskerry Village or at the garage at Kilmacanouge opposite Avoca Handweavers. You will need to allocate at least 5 hours per walk - and obviously that depends on the pace of the group. During the 6 walks the venues will include Fancy Mountain; Glendalough; Lugnaquilla; Maulin and the Glencree Valley.  By changing the venues every week it will help build your experiences of the Wicklow Mountains. Some of the trekking will cover the Wicklow Way.

You will really need to make sure you have the correct gear with you to go on these long walks. Boots, raingear, hat and gloves and additional clothing to keep you warm are essential. Bring a backpack so that you get used to carrying one. You will need food and a hot drink (soup, coffee or hot chocolate will help) and water.

In addition to the long training walks weekly shorter walks, completed at a faster pace will also be undertaken by Gary's group. These will also help to build up your fitness levels.

All walks will be attempted unless the weather is particularly bad. Gary will send you a text message in advance to notify you of the venue. Everyone is welcome on all walks.

Lastly, The Tropical Medical Bureau in Dun Laoghaire have set up two Saturday morning sessions for our group to go and get your vaccinations in their clinic. They will be running them on Saturday 6th and Saturday 13th February. You may contact Miriam Edge in the TMB to organise an appointment on 10 2715 200.

Looking forward to meeting you all again on the 21st January, and in the mean time, good luck with the training!