In The News
Peter Goes Coast to Coast
Last month, our Managing Director Peter Centa took on a 140-mile coast-to-coast cycling challenge to raise funds for his local amateur boxing academy.
Along with friends, Nigel Claydon, Steve Parkhouse, Rich Lodge and Dave Suckling, Peter travelled by mountain-bike from Whitehaven, across the Lake District, over the Pennines and down to Tynemouth - some 140 miles and mostly off-road. The challenge saw the cyclists dip their wheels in the Irish Sea, travel up and over the highest road in the country at 2,056 ft and then back down to the North Sea on the other side. A further 15 miles was inadvertently added to the trip when the team went a tad off course but with unrelenting and torrential rain to contend with for the duration, the group battled the extreme terrain for three days in all.
Their impressive efforts raised over £1,200 for the Hoddesdon Boxing Academy, where Peter’s 14-year old son has been training since the beginning of the year.
“I’ve been so impressed with the Academy” Peter explains “and I’ve seen first hand how amateur boxing helps to develop self-esteem within young people. The focus at Hoddesdon is all on fitness, discipline and building confidence and they achieve great results”.
The Hoddesdon Academy is a registered charity and although the dedicated coaches all give their time for free, it relies heavily on support from the community.
“It costs money to run a purpose built gym” Peter adds “and we were all very pleased to support the great work they do – despite all the aches and pains. For four unfit blokes better known for their drinking abilities than for their athleticism, I think we did pretty well. We even had the Red Arrows do a fly past for us in Newcastle, although some may argue that this was in fact for the Great North Run!”
If you would like to support the great work at the Hoddesdon Academy, please visit http://www.justgiving.com/Peter-Centa to make a donation.
