One of the biggest Welsh rugby charity efforts in a long time is getting ready to get under way. The walkers – including amongst their number 15 ex-Welsh captains such as Rob Howley, Colin Charvis and Eddie Butler – are climbing Kilimanjaro in an effort to raise money for lung cancer research and facilities.
Mark Taylor, one of the ex-captains braving the trek, was kind enough to take time out to answer a few questions about the walk for us. There is a massive fund raising target set for all concerned, and Mark has a personal target of £2,000. So please do sponsor him on this very worthy endeavour. You can sponsor him here.
Mark Taylor Interview
I see that some of the fund raising efforts are the release of limited edition pies and beer – personally these are causes close to my heart, or my stomach at the very least. As an ex-pro do you still try watch what you eat and drink, or do you enjoy the freedom no longer playing gives you? Are you having to watch what you eat for this climb?
I’ve always been a bit of a fussy eater, so my diet hasn’t really changed since I was playing. If anything, I’ll probably try to eat more in the coming weeks to make sure I’ve got some extra energy to get me up the mountain.
It is great to see rugby players, and ex-players, raising money for charity… we do what we can with our efforts on http://waspswalk4matt.com/ … I am certainly impressed with the scope of this effort, and it looks like it will be a huge effort! What sort of training are you having to do to get yourself up the mountain? Have you ever done anything like it before?
This is a completely new experience for me, so I’ve walked Penyfan on a number of occasions to try to get used to hill walking. Obviously this doesn’t really compare to Kilimanjaro, so the University of Glamorgan have been kind enough to let us train in their oxygen chamber to prepare us for the reduction in oxygen at altitude. How our bodies will react to the lack of oxygen associated with altitude will be the biggest challenge to overcome – my brother walked Kili a couple of years ago, and he told me all about the headaches and lethargy that we will face, so I’m very nervous about the final few days!
With all these Welsh captains coming together it is certainly something that raises the publicity for a good cause, and shows how rugby players can do good stuff after they stop playing. Do you still keep in contact with many/any of your old team mates?
I’ve been lucky enough to stay in the game to a certain extent with commentary work, so I still see a lot of my old team mates regularly. I’ve also found a few on Twitter (EDIT: you can follow Mark Taylor here), so I’ve caught up with I few I haven’t seen in a while. Unfortunately, their banter hasn’t improved at all!
Who do you reckon will stand up to the efforts of the climb best, and who will struggle in your opinion?
Everyone I speak to who have experienced walking at altitude tell me that it is a complete lottery – how your body reacts often has little to do with fitness. I’m sure that we will all struggle at some stage.
What are you most looking forward to, and most dreading about the climb?
Dreading any altitude sickness, most looking forward to coming back down after hopefully reaching the top!
And since we’re a rugby blog a quick set of rugby questions
1. who do you think will win the 6 Nations? France
2. who do you think will win the World Cup? New Zealand - I think they’ve got the strongest squad, and should be able to finally shake of the ‘choker’s’ tag.
3.Who do you think will win the Heineken Cup? Very tough to call, but I think it will be one of the usual suspects from Ireland or France.
4.Who do you think will win the Magners League? A close run battle between Leinster, Ospreys and the Blues.
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