An Evening With Mr Parks
- Juliet Sidney
- Oct 5, 2011
- 2 min read
Instead of our usual Thursday Adventure we had an opportunity to hear the tales from a true adventurer. As part of their monthly meetings, Explorers Connect had arranged for Richard Parks to guest talk at the event held in Tera Nova, Cardiff Bay (Where they offer Explorers Connect members 2 – 1 on their meals!).
“Explorers Connect is a growing community of adventurers and independent travelers. Anyone with a desire for adventure, challenge or exploration is welcome to join. As part of the community you can find out about the latest adventure industry news, jobs, opportunities and events, advertise your projects and services, find help and browse resources. You can also join a group near you to meet like-minded people, share advice and get inspired. Explorers Connect is all about making adventurous plans happen.”
“Richard Parks, the former Welsh International and Barbarian flanker, was forced to retire from professional rugby due to a career ending shoulder injury in May 2009. After a period of contemplation, he decided that he was going to confront his fears and unanswered questions by creating The 737 Challenge.”
Richard Parks gave an excellent presentation, detailing the highs and lows of his 737 Challenge that he'd completed in July this year – including photographs of his rather large gory frost bitten toe! It was great to hear the “behind the scenes” stories not aired on the BBC Wales tv series. And even more amazing to hear that not only was the whole challenge planned within 18 months but Richard’s mountaineering and climbing skills were honed within this period too.
At the end of the presentation there was of course the obligatory Q&A section to which the obvious question was asked – “what next?” Richard humbly replied his challenge was far from over. He is committed to the Marie Curie Cancer Care charity and the hope of reaching the £1million fund raising target.
That is not to say that in the back of his mind a few ideas are bouncing round…………
It was a fascinating talk and a great opportunity to meet a world record breaker – The first man ever to climb the highest peaks in each continent and visit the geographical poles with-in a seven month period. A truly inspirational man!
For further information on the 737 Challenge and to make a donation to the Marie Curie Cancer Care: please click here.
For information on the Explorers Connect adventure & expedition community: please click here.
We had rather sheepishly asked for a picture with the lovely Richard Parks only to find that, typically, there was a technical fault with the camera – never blame the photographer lol – but thank you anyway Richard for posing with us!
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