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Accountancy firm Milne Craig, from Paisley, got their figures right as they walked away with the award for Fastest Accountancy Team at this year's RBS Caledonian Challenge, Britain's most spectacular physical and mental fundraising team challenge.

It's been over 3 months since 1300 weary walkers crossed the finishing line at Loch Lomond following a grueling 54 mile walk along the West Highland Way. Team members from 'The Double Entries', Margaret Stevenson, Eileen Cochrane, Stuart Hunter and Paul Craig, put their best feet forward to cross the finish line in just 22 hours 36 minutes.

The Awards were announced at the Royal College of Physicians, Queen Street, Edinburgh at the RBS Caledonian Challenge Champions Awards reception celebrating physical, fundraising and team spirit triumphs during the 2008 event.

For Paisley based Milne Craig the event holds a special allure and the £2,920 raised for The Scottish Community Foundation this year brings the total monies raised by the company to £30,00 over the past three years. Team member Paul Craig praised the event saying 'This is the third time that our firm have entered teams in the Caledonian Challenge.  We have returned because the format of the event is right for us.  It is a tremendous challenge while still being within the reach of ordinary people. Our walkers have a great sense of personal achievement and it has been a great team building exercise.'

The real winners of the RBS Caledonian Challenge are the local community groups and charities benefiting from the funds raised for the Scottish Community Foundation. Since its inception in 1996, the Challenge has attracted over 12,000 walkers who have braved the West Highland Way course. Together, all these walkers have raised over £8m for the charity, supporting the work of the Scottish Community Foundation in strengthening communities throughout Scotland. Projects range from youth theatres to elderly support groups, drugs advice services to healthy eating initiatives.

For over 1300 walkers the grueling 54 mile, 24 hour challenge will live long in the memory as one of their greatest achievements. The legacy of this year's Challenge will live even longer with the event raising an estimated £950,000 to strengthen local communities close to the West Highland Way and throughout Scotland.

Since January 2006 Renfrewshire based community groups and charities have benefited from grants from the Scottish Community Foundation to the value of £266,619; whilst 205 community groups and charities in the City of Glasgow have received £1224,258. http://www.scottishcf.org/resources/grant-map/

The 2009 RBS Caledonian Challenge takes place on the 13th and 14th June and interested teams can take advantage of the early bird entry discount by
booking online for £75 before the end of December. For more details please
visit www.caledonianchallenge.com <http://www.caledonianchallenge.com>

ENDS

Media Contact:
For images, interviews or any other media enquires please contact Paddy
Cuthbert at Podge Publicity on 07968 699 636 or email paddy@podge.co.uk

Notes to Editors:

The official title of the event is THE RBS CALEDONIAN CHALLENGE. Please visit www.caledonianchallenge.com for more information.

The 2009 event:
THE RBS CALEDONIAN CHALLENGE
54 MILES, 24 HOURS, 4 TEAM-MATES: THE WALK OF YOUR LIFE
Raising Funds to strengthen local communities
Saturday 13 – Sunday 14 June 2009
http://www.caledonianchallenge.com


RBS Caledonian Challenge 2008
This year 1300 walkers from the UK, Ireland, Netherlands, Belgium, Sweden, Switzerland, Spain, Portugal, Canada, USA, South Africa, India and New Zealand set off from Glen Nevis near Fort William on Saturday 14 June 2008 on Britain's most spectacular physical and mental team fundraising challenge – The RBS Caledonian Challenge. 78% completed the gruelling ordeal on Sunday 15 June. Taking in some of Scotland's most stunning highland scenery along the way the route starts in Glen Nevis in the shadows of Ben Nevis, the highest mountain in the UK, just outside Fort William, travels through Glen Coe via the 'Devil's staircase' to cross the remote Rannoch Moor.  Walkers then follow the route through Bridge of Orchy down to Auchtertyre and finally on to the bonnie banks of Loch Lomond where the Challenge finishes at Ardleish. Teams are then whisked over the shores by boat to the finish village at Ardlui.

Since the first Challenge 12 years ago the 12,000 walkers have clocked up a total of 513,000 miles; that's the same as walking to the moon and back. The number of miles accumulatively walked by the 2008 participants is the equivalent of two and half times around the Earth. On average, each walker on the RBS Caledonian Challenge takes 108,000 steps along the 54 mile route, drinking on average 15 litres of water and burning off between 8,000 to 10, 000 calories in the process; and around 9,000 pairs of socks are worn by the walkers during each event.


Background to the RBS Caledonian Challenge
Two Scots, Angus MacDonald and Alex Blyth founded the Caledonian Challenge in 1997. Inspired by a walking event in Hong Kong, they wanted to bring a similar challenge to Scotland's rugged and beautiful West Highland region.

The Caledonian Challenge has grown from just 17 walkers raising £16,000 to become Scotland's top charity endurance event, with more than 1,500 walkers braving the trail in 2007.

Each year, the event has raised more than £1million for the Scottish Community Foundation's nominated charities.  These funds support the work of the Scottish Community Foundation, which helps people to give back to Scotland. The Caledonian Challenge has raised over £8m since its inception, helping fund projects that range from youth theatres to elderly support groups, drugs advice services to healthy eating initiatives.

The Scottish Community Foundation (SCF) is an independent grant-making charity dedicated to strengthening communities in Scotland. We match philanthropic people and organisations to good causes. grassroots projects run by locally based charities and voluntary groups. It is the only organisation of its kind.

Since its inception in 1996, the charity has distributed over £14million with a further £4million which will be distributed by the end of the current financial year. This makes us the fourth largest funder of the Scottish voluntary sector.

In 2005 alone £2.5 million of Scottish Community Foundation grants reached every sector of society in every corner of Scotland; from under fives and over seventies to arts groups and disadvantaged teenagers; from the rural Highlands and Islands to the Scottish Borders, isolated rural areas to crowded inner cities. The sums involved were just as far ranging; the smallest gift was £200, the largest a long term grant of £25,000 per year.


The Royal Bank of Scotland Group ('RBS Group') is one of the world's leading financial services companies providing a range of retail and corporate banking, financial markets, consumer finance, insurance, and wealth management services. RBS Group operates in Europe, the US and Asia Pacific serving more than 36 million personal customers world-wide and employing more than 140,000 people.  In addition to the provision of a full range of banking services under The Royal Bank of Scotland and NatWest brands, RBS Group also includes Citizens Financial Group, Ulster Bank, Coutts Group, Direct Line and Churchill.