[MK Chris]

Haha. I did laugh when Dom said "I've never sent my wife an email with bullet points, but that's what Tom has just sent Carrie".

I'm with Munki Bhoy (I think it was him who said it), I would love to give Kilimanjaro a crack. Whether I'll ever have the money to try, who knows, but if I am ever in a position where I can afford it, I'm going for it.

[thenamesarnold]

Another Photograph of Chris (looking slightly cold).

£53k is brilliant; good to see the fundraising is going well. If the team are aiming to beat that it’s going to take some doing!
The email from Major Tom was brilliant, I wonder how competitive the team will get doing the course?

[S4B]

Carrie will be very competitive, I think the rest will just be glad when it's over!

[Bruvva]

Toph and Munki - you can always do this http://www.kilimanjaromarathon.com/..

I'll race you to the top!

[S4B]

I would pay good money to see you do that!

[MK Chris]

Toph and Munki - you can always do this http://www.kilimanjaromarathon.com/..

I'll race you to the top!

Er... I think it would be difficult enough to walk it!

I would like to run a marathon as well though. I should really start running again soon, I haven't done for aaaages.

[Bruvva]

There's a 5k run, that'll be easy....I decided after the last one that I'm just not built for anything longer than 10k!

[MK Chris]

I've never done anything remotely as long as a marathon before, so I would have to build myself up to it - maybe do some 5K, then 10 and some half marathons first. I'd love to do London, but I understand that's nigh on impossible to get an entry for.

[Bruvva]

http://www.runnersworld.ltd.uk/firsttime.htm This is a good training schedule for a marathon if you're starting from scratch, it's a 14 week programme so maybe find a 10k programme to start off with and get you back into running.

Also, and I can't stress this enough, get proper running shoes. Find a local Runners Need shop or another shop that does gait analysis and splash out on a decent pair otherwise you'll end up like me with muscles I didn't even know I had aching.

As for getting into the London Marathon, obviously this year's gone but the easiest way to get into it is to run for a charity but they'll expect you to raise a fair amount of cash - Macmillan wanted £1900 for this year's.

[C-Kay]

I'm glad i'm not the only one this has inspired, all the talk about the climb, the live reports and photo's have made want to give it a crack at some point.

Toph and Munki - you can always do this http://www.kilimanjaromarathon.com/..

I'll race you to the top!

However, i think that WOULD actually kill me.

[MK Chris]

http://www.runnersworld.ltd.uk/firsttime.htm This is a good training schedule for a marathon if you're starting from scratch, it's a 14 week programme so maybe find a 10k programme to start off with and get you back into running.

Also, and I can't stress this enough, get proper running shoes. Find a local Runners Need shop or another shop that does gait analysis and splash out on a decent pair otherwise you'll end up like me with muscles I didn't even know I had aching.

As for getting into the London Marathon, obviously this year's gone but the easiest way to get into it is to run for a charity but they'll expect you to raise a fair amount of cash - Macmillan wanted £1900 for this year's.

Cheers Bruvva, just bookmarked that link. I need to work out interesting or nice looking places to run through to take my mind off it and stop me getting bored.

You're the second person to say about proper running shoes and I've only just mentioned it.. my boss said the same thing. He reckons I need to spend £40 or £50 on a pair and break them in gently. He also said that at the merest hint of knee trouble, get knee supports and wear them whether I have trouble after that or not.

London would be brilliant, although I think to start with I'll aim for a less publicised one.. and also one that doesn't have cobbled streets. There's no point in training for this if I'm not going to keep it up, so I can always aim for London afterwards.

[Munki Bhoy]

Listening to them this morning it sounded really hard going now. And I still fancy a crack at it. Need to do a few more of our Scottish ones first before I seriously consider something as epic though.

Any marathon would kill me. I'm allergic to nuts.

(Not really, I just wanted to go for the crap and old joke)

[MK Chris]

Ha - so old it no longer makes sense?

I think the reason they've had such a response this year - in spite of the credit crunch - reflects the magnitude of the challenge. As Andy B said, they had the Truck of Luck and Rallyoke stuff before and yeah there were some decent prizes, but it wasn't really inspiring stuff. It also reflects how Chris' determination has managed to capture the interest of so many people who want to see him successful.

[Bruvva]

http://www.runnersworld.co.uk/events/foundevents.asp?evntTitle=&evntDate=a%3Afut&distance=20-22&county=19&area=&evntSurface=&sp=&v=2

List of local half marathons to you Topher, you can adjust the search to find 10ks and whatnot - and yes, 40-50 quid is a minimum. Mine cost £90 but they're designed to stop over pronation so cost more.

[asy1mpo]

Listening to Chris from the mountain talking about how everyone is going.

Rachel has done really well!! Sounds like she climbed what they have in about 3-4 days, she did in 2 days before they were all there and shes carrying the satellite equipment aswell

Well done Rachel!

Come going Chris!! (and everyone else!)

[C-Kay]

Sounds like they are really starting to struggle now

4th February 2009

As day four of The BT Red Nose Climb draws to a close, it’s been the toughest one yet with the celebrity climbers suffering from altitude sickness and severe weather conditions. In fact, they’ve been forced to camp in a foggy, hailing hell.

With the last reserves of energy draining from their legs, and their chests pounding with lack of oxygen, the Kili climbers have all just about made it to camp at a whopping altitude of 4600m – but for some, it’s been touch and go.

On what has been the most gruelling day of the climb so far, the team have spent the majority of their time today strung out over half a mile in cloud cover so thick that they’ve not been able to see each other, let alone where they’ve been headed.

At times, the only thing to keep them all going was the incredible fundraising total that they’ve raised so far. When they heard they’d reached over £750,000, they felt motivated to push on despite the pain and sickness.

Knowing how tough it’s been for the team, the African porters guided them into camp this evening by breaking into song, a moment so emotional it moved each of the celebrity climbers to tears as they literally crawled into camp.

Fearne has had the worst time of all of them and at one point it didn't look like she could continue today but grit and determination made her overcome the odds and carry on aided by the others.

Ben said “That was the hardest and scariest day yet, there was every chance we could have lost a member of the team - yet it was so exhilarating when everyone made it across the line. The welcome we got from the porters was astounding - they literally sung us home”.

All of the celebrities are now experiencing extreme nausea as the brutal altitude continues to take its toll. They walked hunched over with heads bowed, taking baby steps as the team made painfully slow progress. The girls are suffering the most, trailing the group for most of the day and they were the last to arrive at camp this evening, all struggling for breath.

Denise explained “We are really depending on each other now; this was such a hard, hard day - a real slog. We are literally sleeping under the summit tonight, we are so, so close now and we’ve got to stay strong”.

Cheryl added “The fun is over. This is unquestionably the hardest thing I have ever done”.

Despite his back problems Gary has taken to leading the celebrities, relying on his northern humour to keep the team going, but he too has been feeling extremely unwell and took a 30 minute rest when he became breathless.

Mirroring Gary’s determination, but with every step excruciatingly painful Chris commented “I’m trudging here, counting steps to the top of the ridge. I hope to God the camp is on the other side”. A moment later he added “It wasn’t”.

In between gasps for ever thinning air, the celebrities thoughts turned to comfort food as the team fantasised about eating roast dinners, burgers and sausage sarnies. Earlier in the day they stopped for a sugary energy boost and wolfed down haribos, Percy pigs and chocolate éclairs to keep their energy up.

Tonight the exhausted group are camping under the summit of Mount Kilimanjaro at a spot known as Lava Tower. However, worsening weather conditions are quickly turning what should be an awe-inspiring moment into a foggy, hailing hell.

Altitude sickness permitting, tomorrow the celebrities are scheduled to undertake a might eight hour slog further up the mountain. Thankfully, tomorrow’s trek spans out at a slightly lower altitude so it’s hoped that all the celebrities will be able to continue with their incredible climb.

The celebrity climbers are putting themselves through this gruelling challenge to raise a mountain of cash – they’re being constantly updated with the total raised and it’s really keeping them going. If you’ve not yet shown the team your support, please sponsor them

I really hope every member makes it, it will be such a shame if one or 2 drop out.

[thenamesarnold]

I really hope every member makes it, it will be such a shame if one or 2 drop out.

Its great they are working strongly as a team, however if someone was to have to dropout I think it would have a large knock on effect on the group causing more to doubt themselves. Lets hope it doesn’t come to that though. Also its good to see Chris and Gary trying to boost morale and encourage the group.

[TIAL]

Does anyone know how they can be climbing at a lower altitude tomorrow than they did today?
I think it has been explained but I'm still not sure.

[thenamesarnold]

Considering the team have already taken part in one acclimatisation i would think this is another ...

In order to acclimatise to the altitude I am guessing the base camp is higher this evening, they will then walk down from camp and continue walking ready to go back up again? Feel free to prove me wrong .

Futher Images if you havent seen them:
(*edit spotted them a minute after posting)

[C-Kay]

The mountain isn't a case of just walking straight up, the paths take you a route that is accesible, which sometimes means going back down to climb back up.

Plus they do this to help your body adjust to the altitude, they climb high today, then back down a bit tomorrow, so when the climb higher, it shouldn't affect them as much.

[Bonanzoid]

Holy moly Chris looks great.

And how is it that whatever the apparel and make-up/lack of Alesha Dixon looks absolutely stunning?!?!

[Yudster]

I think they are all going to make it now. Chris sounds much better, a lot of them have overcome sickness - the end is in sight now, I reckon they are all going to do it. This is really exciting!

[S4B]

It really is exciting. Great to see some pics of Cheryl and Kimberley too for a change.

[Yudster]

That picture of Kimberley which went up yesterday was lovely. And it was great to hear Cheryl live this morning - glad she's feeling better. I didn;'t think she and Kimberley would make it, but it really looks like they will now.

[in4308]

Wow, that second picture above looks photoshop'd. I know its not before anybody says it......

Did Chris do a live segment into the show today? I dident hear one, i may have just missed it.