Leo and Jason's Borneo Challenge: Just Two Days To Go!!

deafPLUS bids farewell to its esteemed staff, Leo Mansell and Jason Barnett before they head off to Borneo in two days' time.

We caught up with them to hear their thoughts about the journey.

1. Leo, Jason--thank you for joining us. We cannot believe you are going to Borneo in two days' time. How are you feeling about it?

To be honest, I cannot describe how I am feeling at the moment--it is mixed feelings, really. I am having trouble coming to terms with the fact that we are going to Borneo...I think we are both finding it hard to accept that we will not see our families for a week. On the other hand, we are looking forward to the challenge.

2. Huge well done to both of you! How do you feel about achieving your sponsorship target?

It felt very good...I felt relaxed knowing I achieved the target in good time. I am grateful to my family, my friends and my work colleagues in deafPLUS and other organisations, for helping me achieve the target ahead of deadline. They have shown their kindness and I would like to pay it back by reaching the summit!

3. What have you been doing to prepare for the trip this week

Jason - I have taken out my jogging trainers and have run around the block in my area. I have also gained more stamina by losing a bit of weight as I was 13.5 stones and now I'm 12.75 stones! I have cut out on junk food and eating quite sensibly over the last few weeks.

Leo - I have also been wearing my walking boots to and from home and work. See, I wanted to break them in, so I don't get sore feet. This is something we'd like to avoid, as I think we will certainly be doing a lot of walking, I have no doubt about that.

4. What is going through your mind right now about going to Borneo?

I can't wait for my feet to be walking the streets of Borneo and sampling the culture as it's our first time in Asia.

I am psyching myself up, so I am mentally ready for the task. This is the biggest challenge, one of the milestones in my life...although marrying my wife tops the lot!

5. What do you plan to do on your rest days in Borneo?

Rest days? That's a new one...I don't think there will be any rest days for me and Jason. We are visiting the deaf society in Sabah, where I will give a talk about deafPLUS. We will also visit three schools for deaf children, which will certainly be very interesting. Our last day will probably be difficult because we...as old timers will probably be struggling to walk around after the climb!

We are joking actually! We will keep you updated on the blog with regular posts to tell you all about Borneo. It will be very, very interesting.

6. deafPLUS is very proud of you both! Good luck, fellas!

Thank you. :)