And away we go! After 2 long years we are finally off on the epic Musandam Challenge in Oman. The challenge is to make it to the remote village - literally called Hell - and back. The team will be hiking and camping in parts where no other groups have been before, in terrain unlike anything we have ever tackled before. Known as the “Norway of Africa”, the Musandam is full of steep-sided fjords, long abandoned villages, and fierce, rocky wadis. It is ringed by turquoise waters and empty white-sand beaches. Distances are small but the extremes of the terrain make the trekking tough and the heat adds to the challenge! After 3 days of difficult trekking and rough camping we finally hike up and away from the coast to arrive at the abandoned village of Hell. A further climb up Jebel Haffa brings us to the high point of the headland before beginning the trek back to Dibba and civilization.

With enormous gratitude for our health, we are undertaking this challenge to raise funds and awareness of colon cancer. We welcome your support if you choose make a donation. Please visit the Projects we are Funding page at 40tude.org.uk for more information on our current research projects. If you have already supported us in the past, we simply ask you get yourself screened for colon cancer regularly from your mid 40’s. Please help us spread the word that if you are a non-smoker in the UK, male or female, colon cancer is the most likely cancer to kill you. This needn’t be the case: colon cancer is also one of the easiest cancers to treat if it is detected early. The really good news is that it is also preventable in nearly all patients, through regular screening.

Wish us luck!

Jared Noering