As a trail runner, my usual training session is very different! However, it was great to join the team as I prepare for the 4 Trails Challenge and they prepare to defend their championship trophy

- Tim Proudlock | 4 Trails Challenger

Amongst the sweaty clutter at last Saturdays early morning men’s pre-season training session was a special guest. Rubbing shoulders with the mostly Premiership players was Tim Proudlock, a man on a mission, who just so happens to work for St. James’s Place – a proud sponsor of Sandy Bay.

Tim is to take on the formidable Maclehose trail, Wilson trail, Hong Kong trail, and Lantau trail in October - all in the space of 4 days! To some, that sounds like utter madness but the Challenge will be raising money for some incredible local charities with the support of the St. James's Place Charitable Foundation, including the Chicken Soup Foundation, the Love21 Foundation, and International China Concern.

Looking for a different type of training session, Tim was invited by the clubs Senior Head Coach, Brett Wilkinson, to get involved with a gruelling Saturday morning ‘Strongman’ circuit session at one of the international schools.

Wilkinson was impressed. “It was great having Tim down at our session on Saturday. These are tough sessions, but he showed no hesitation and got stuck in straight away."

Initially Tim was concerned that he might suffer a bashing from some of the larger, clumsy forwards but the Strongman involves no contact and is about true functional strength, like lifting heavy, awkward objects - like those you encounter in life - and getting them from A to B, whether that is from the ground to overhead, or from one end of the room to the other.

Soon enough, Tim was flipping massive tyres, pushing heavy sleds, hoisting heavy sandbags and straining hard on a rope in a tug of war – finished off with a spot of touch rugby.

“As a trail runner, my usual training session is very different! However, it was great to join the team as I prepare for the 4 Trails Challenge and they prepare to defend their championship trophy”, said Proudlock.

Wilkinson was full of encouragement when he spoke for the club, “we’re wishing Tim the best of luck - we are all right behind him on this challenge.... very far behind him indeed. Come back and train with us any time.”

To find out more and donate please visit the website: www.4trailschallengehk.com