Registration for the trek, on behalf of The Alzheimer's Society, took place back in November 2007, so training started in earnest in Jan this year.
Walking every weekend, plus 3 / 4 nights a week at the gym started to build up a good level of fitness. One weekend every month from March was spent in Brecon / Lake District / Snowdownia getting some "proper" mountain practice in. This included scree running on Scafell and an interesting bumble across the top of Crib Goch to Snowdon!!
The only thing you can't really train for is the Altitude so the only advice I can give is to train your heart and lungs as hard as you can, as the better capacity you have to breathe, the easier you will find it.
I did just this and even as a smoker, managed to cope with the dizzy heights of 5,895m (19350ft for those of you not metric).
Climbing Kili was an amazing experience with stunning views at various stages on the climb - image attached shows sunrise as I was just reaching Stella Point before ascending to Uhuru Peak at the summit.
Amazing feeling to have made it to the top after an 8 and a half hour slog in the dark, having also got separated from my group for about 5 hours, which made the ascent a very lonely and mentally tough fight.
Raising somewhere around £7300 - £7500 and the thought that I may be able to help someone else not suffer what my Mum has for the last two years kept me going and some inbuilt stubborness that came from somewhere!
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