Glasgow Hawks players Ricky Munday and Ally Maclay know how to scale metaphorical heights given that they've been part of the Hawks squad who have won three Scottish Club championship titles this decade.

Now, however, theyre planning to complete a challenge that will put their other achievements in the shade.

Munday, 31, and Maclay, 24, are raising money for the Balcraig Foundation by attempting to climb Africas three highest peaks&in the space of just 22 days.

In October and November of this year the gutsy pairing will attempt to ascend Mount Stanley in Uganda, Mount Kilimanjaro in Tanzania and Mount Kenya.

Ricky, an experienced climber, said: "We are well aware of the difficulty of the task ahead. It will be non-stop climbing and travelling. We will be returning to Nairobi after every venture and get on gruelling, long distance bus services the following day to the next mountain.

I have accomplished many endurance events in the past including: the Marathon Des Sables (150 mile race across the Sahara), Mont Blanc and the Gondoro Peak in the Himalayas. However, the short time duration between all the climbs, the public transport and the fact that every mountain is over 15,000 ft, makes this summers challenge potentially one of the hardest yet."

Whilst Ricky has made it a lifetime ambition to, one day, tackle Everest, Hawks team-mate and former Scotland U21 internationalist, Ally Maclay, is a complete climbing novice.

However, it is of the highest importance, to both of them, that they show total dedication to their intense training regime.

We have dropped out of all our sevens commitments as we cant afford any injuries at this stage. As part of our training we have been doing regular 15km runs and running up and down Ben Lomond every weekend, said Ricky.

Man Mountain, Ally, standing at 6ft 3 and weighing around 16 stone cannot merely rely on his anaerobic rugby fitness and has had to prepare his body for the new demands that he will face later this year.

Ally, a PE Teacher, explains: My size adds to the difficulty of the task ahead. I have been swimming and running almost everyday and have shed over a stone already but Im aiming to lose at least another stone before I leave for Kenya.

Ricky adds: In order to prepare Ally for some of the more technical aspects of the climb, we have been training at the indoor climbing wall in Glasgow. He is always making progress but nothing can prepare you for the effects of exposure and altitude near the summits.

Prior to the expedition Ricky will work in Kenyas Childrens Home based in Nairobi, which is one of the projects supported by the Balcraig Foundation. The placement is part of a secondment through his employer, Bank of Scotland.

The affiliation between the Bank of Scotland and the Foundation came about as the creator, Anne Gloag, was a client of the bank. The secondment is a great opportunity and will allow me to utilise my accounting skills to help co-ordinate fundraising projects out in Nairobi, explains Ricky.

The Balcraig Foundation has set up a number a number of initiatives in Kenya, of which the Kenyan Childrens home is but one.

Ally will be joining Ricky out in Nairobi for the last two weeks of his placement and is looking forward to seeing how their fundraising will be used to help alleviate the problems caused through poverty.

The premise of all the projects is that they will eventually become self-sustainable. In recent years they have set up a mill to process grain and maize, a thrift shop and a wedding service amongst others.

The Jonathan Gloag Academy, which was set up by the Foundation in 1992, not only offers a high quality private education service but also supports many of the other local projects including the Childrens Home.

Coming from a privileged background and having such a comfortable lifestyle, it is often easy to forget the hardships people suffer on a daily basis. The fundraising and the work of the projects in Kenya is almost a greater incentive to travel out there than the expedition itself, he said.

Ally and Ricky are constantly looking to increase the profile of their fundraising campaign and have recently landed two major sponsors Mountain Equipment and Gibson Pension and Investment.

As well as corporate sponsorship they are holding a number of events including a function at Anniesland, Glasgow Hawks RFC, prior to Rickys departure on 7 June. To find out more about their progress and to donate to the cause, go to the website at www.kilts2kenya.com.

This article was posted on 16-May-2008, 14:42 by Hugh Barrow.