WALKING 80 miles along the length of Hadrian's Wall is no mean feat, but for two North Yorkshire men it's just like a walk in the park.

Firefighter Clive Smith, from Kirkham, and Gareth Ashworth, from Foston, are embarking on the hike to raise awareness for two friends in North America - who are midway through a huge 8,500-mile challenge.

Gareth, who is a rope access technician, said they had decided to set off on a four-day trip to help raise the profile of two former Royal Marines, Rob Tweddle and Sean Johnson, who are taking part in the North American Challenge for cancer research.

"Rob and I first met when we worked together for a company - we fitted all the cabling on the Millennium Wheel," said Gareth.

"I decided to do this walk over here to raise a little bit of awareness.

"To be honest, I'm a bad map reader, so we are setting off on the east coast and following the wall until we get to the west coast."

Gareth, 33, said he had roped Clive in on the trip at their local pub in Kirkham.

But he said their hike didn't even compare with the North American Challenge, which involves cycling almost 4,000 miles from the east coast of Canada to the west coast, canoeing 2,500 miles along the full length of the Missouri River, and finishing off with 2,155 miles of skiing and walking on the Appalachian Trail in the US.

Rob and Sean are both no strangers to gruelling challenges, though.

Gareth said: "About three years ago, they paddled the Mississippi because they thought it was the longest river, but after they finished someone said it wasn't, the Missouri was longer.

"They decided to do the North American Challenge, and they're raising money for cancer research in memory of Rob's dad, who died last year from skin cancer.

"We just want to raise awareness and get as many people as possible to pledge their support."

To donate money, sponsors can log on to www.northamericanchallenge.co.uk and follow the American adventurers' progress.

Updated: 10:24 Wednesday, September 25, 2002