Man Versus Mountain

James Dunmore is stepping out of his TVstar girlfriend’s shadow, and his own comfort zone, to take on a charity challenge very close to his heart.MF caught up with the former Made In Chelseacast member to discover how he is preparing to conquer Mount Kilimanjaro

James Dunmore would be the first to admit he’s best known as the boyfriend of Lucy Watson, a cast member of reality TV show Made In Chelsea between 2012 and 2016. Dunmore appeared on the show himself in 2015, but departed along with Lucy the following year. Since then, while Watson has devoted her time to her growing business, including a soon-to-open vegan restaurant in west London, Dunmore has thrown himself into fundraising work for the Cystic Fibrosis Trust. His next charity challenge – a seven-day, 93km walk to the summit of Mount Kilimanjaro, 5,895m above sea level – takes place later this year, and his preparation’s about to get serious…

James, how are you feeling about your toughest charity challenge yet?

I am very excited. I signed up knowing it was a huge challenge, but I didn’t really look at the stats! It’s six to seven hours of walking a day for seven days – and I do not like walking! An hour’s walk feels like a day tome, and I’m going to have to do about 93km in a week. My plan in the months before the challenge is to work on my natural levels of fitness. Then, two months before the climb, that’s when I’ll start doing more specific training, like incline treadmill walking and the cross-trainer. I’ll also take myself off to the Lake District and get some miles in up there.

Altitude sickness is a real concern during challenges like this, and can affect anyone regardless of fitness levels. Is that a worry for you?

Yes, it does worry me a little bit because I don’t know yet if or how it will affect me. I will go to the Altitude Centre in London and work with them in some 60-minute sessions. They’ll do some tests to ascertain my sensitivity to altitude, and then we’ll adjust my training accordingly.