A TEAM of nursery workers leaned on each other for support as they tackled a marathon hike – with one crossing the finish line in a pair of plastic Crocs.

Six colleagues from Fenton Barns Nursery took on the Rob Roy Mighty Hike on August 24.

‘The Mighty FBN Team’ are raising money for the Macmillan cancer charity in memory of several close friends and family members who have had the disease.

Nicola Maraid Prickett, Sarah Muir, Lauren Peacock, Laura Gray, Laura Buchanan and Naomi Galloway all started their walk at 6.50am to take on the marathon distance.

The early start followed a disrupted sleep for the group, who stayed overnight in University of Stirling’s student accommodation but were woken at 2am when someone in the building accidently set off an emergency alarm.

They left at 5am to make it to the start line and spirits were high, despite a lot of nerves.

A total of 834 fundraisers took part in Macmillan’s Mighty Hike, which led them through the Trossachs National Park at Loch Lomond and along the iconic Rob Roy Way. 

Three hills, a fallen tree, a large boggy section and clouds of midges all added to the challenge.

Macmillan hosts 11 annual Mighty Hikes across the UK. (Image: Sarah Muir on Facebook)

Members of the team struggled at different point along the course but they motivated each other to keep going, often opting to distract themselves by talking about anything that was not the challenge they were in the middle of undertaking.

Lauren, manager at the nursery, was having difficulties with her trainers causing pain up the back of her legs - so elected to change into a pair of Crocs for the second half of the race.

However, being full of holes, the plastic shoes got soaked going through the bogs and the rest of the team scrambled in their bags to find anything to dry them with.

Despite a few setbacks and the unusual choice of footwear for a marathon hike, the group finished the race in 11 hours and 53 minutes.

Nicola described the experience as “emotional” and confirmed that “there were definitely tears when we went over the line”.

She told the Courier: “We weren’t sure if we were all going to finish, but we did – we all battled through it.

“It was a long time to be on our feet too – mentally as well, it wasn’t just physical.

“The Crocs were so funny – we were getting some looks!"

Reflecting on the experience, Nicola added: “It was tougher than we ever thought it would be, but we pushed each other through the pain and got ourselves to the finish.”

‘The Mighty FBN Team’ have raised over £1,100 for their efforts so far and donations can still be made at justgiving.com/team/fbn