As the saying goes: ‘All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy.’ And some people will go to extreme lengths to keep dullness at bay. Edward Hardy (pictured far right), a senior solicitor at the Nationwide Building Society, is a case in point. He and a team of colleagues took part in the gruelling four-day Microsoft Challenge in Scotland and raised about £8,000 for the NSPCC. The event saw teams kayaking, mountain biking, navigating by torchlight and running to complete challenges over four days. ‘It’s very different from my day job because the emphasis was on teamwork,’ said Hardy, once he had got his breath back. Perhaps this was not so different from his day job as a transactional lawyer as competitors also had to crack codes and complete a series of complex tasks against the clock while being pushed to their limits. Hardy’s team came 65th out of 116 entrants. Clearly a glutton for punishment, he said: ‘I didn’t enjoy it at the time, but felt elated when it was over. And I’d do it again, if I got permission from my wife.’