Club rivals set to tackle charity trek challenge

A group of eight players and members from Mosborough Rugby Club will be taking part in this summer’s Oxfam Trailtrekker, a gruelling 100km (62.5-mile) charity walk through the magnificent Yorkshire Dales which takes up to 30 hours to complete.

Participants are required to enter the event in teams of four, and the two sets of rivals from the rugby club near Sheffield will be vying with one another to be the first group over the finishing line.

“We’re really up for it,” said Arnie Hattersley, 61, leading the Mosborough Rugby Club team. “I’m confident we’ll all make it round – though whether we can beat the others remains to be seen. They are a fair bit younger than us.”

Mr Hattersley’s team is certainly the senior of the two, with a combined age of 218 years – but that means experience is on their side.

“I completed the Lyke Wake walk last year which is about 40 miles,” Mr Hattersley said. “So I’ve got some idea what I’m up against.”

Equally confident are their counterparts, the ironically-named Mosborough Rugby Juniors.

“We’re all in our 30s and 40s – but we’re younger than them lot,” says team captain Philip Lidster.

“It’s all a bit tongue-in-cheek. It just seemed like something a bit out of the ordinary – though my wife would call it a mid-life crisis.”

Trailtrekker 2011 takes place on June 4 and 5. The Yorkshire Post is media partner for the event.

To sponsor Mr Hattersley’s team, visit http://uk.virginmoneygiving.com/team/rugby. To sponsor Mr Lidster’s team, visit http://uk.virginmoneygiving.com/team/mosboroughrugbyjuniors.