Nearly 4.5km around Hyde Park and then haring up the stairs at the Hilton tower - who'd be mad enough to do that? Well, thanks to the hard work of the folk at the Galvin at Windows restaurant, and with money raised going to a charity for disadvantaged youngsters, Michel Roux Jnr, Olympic medallist Roger Black and former England footballer Graeme Le Saux are among those who have signed up to take part in a race that's bound to be the highlight of London's
sporting summer.
The whole point of the coming race is to raise money for the Galvin's Chance Project, a programme devised to help disadvantaged people aged 18-24 who are not in education, employment or formal training.
Youngsters identified by the Solve This Ongoing Problem campaign (STOP), run by Alex Rose, have the chance to work front of house at Chris Galvin's restaurant at the London Hilton on Park Lane hotel, Galvin at Windows, or at the nearby Dorchester hotel. That follows a period of training at Westminster Kingsway College.
The whole project, appropriately enough, came out of the keen running of Fred Sirieix, general manager of Galvin at Windows. Sirieix used to jog around south London, but became concerned at the increasing number of police signs put up relating to stabbing incidents.
He got in touch with STOP and now Hilton, via its community programme and the Springboard Charitable Trust, is involved with the Galvin Chance programme.
The target for money raised from the race by Galvin Chance is £30,000. It costs £20 per entry, and people entering have to commit to earning at least £250 in sponsorship deals.
GALVIN CHANCE RUNNERS
- Fred Sirieix
- Anne Pierce
- Michael Shepherd
- John Townsend
- Michel Roux Jnr
- Roger Black
- Graeme Le Saux
- Emma Forbes
- Ralf Little
- Lee Latchford-Evans
- Simon Vincent
- Erik Brown
- Jessica Bowen
- Adrian Beckett
- Claudia Johnson
- Myke Gray
- Henry Leivers
- Jennifer Harris
- Sarah Lawson
- Paul Martin
- Nick Smith
- Chris Galvin
- Luke Blackhall
- Kate Spicer
- Ruby Snape
- Craig Smith
- Jo Mersh-Fenn
- Philipp Mosimann
- Terry Neil
- Roland Giscard d'Estaing
- Zoe Margolis
- Daily Twitter
- James Lugg
- Susan Nilson
- Ian Livingstone
- Peter Wetherel
- Peter Harden
- Olly Smith
- Nigel Barden
- KP Shield
- Robert Cook
- Robin Fenwick
- Mark McCafferty
- Ian Carter
- Sir Rocco Forte
- Mark Mosimann
- Phil Howard
- Andrew Lynnes
- Krishna Prasad
- Jonathan Webb
- Mark Caswell
- Felicity Cousins
- Joe Warwick
- Anton Edelmann
- Nigel Barden
- Kosta Milosevic
- Charles Oak
- Andrew du Bourg
- Alexander Rose
- Scott Umpleby
DETAILS OF SPONSORED RUN
Date: 17 June
Time: 4pm start
The route: The course starts gently enough, taking in a circuit of the Serpentine lake in Hyde Park, before heading through the Park Lane underpass. But then the hell begins with 28 levels of the Hilton building to be scaled before the finishing line - where there's a glass of Pommery Champagne in store.
Visit the Mayfair Park and Tower Race website for more details for more details.