01 August 2014
Trailwalker 2014 - 4 People | 100KM | 30 HOURS
Last weekend I took part in the Trailwalker.
It involves a team of 4 walkers, covering 100km of the South
Downs Way, within 30 hours. Our team, myself, Neale Sterio, Michael Thaysen -
Sorenson and Leon Emes, with our fantastic support team of Mette and Debs, set
off with the intention of being under 24 hours – how hard could it be??
There are 10
checkpoints along the way, where you can meet your support teams - and they are
all manned by the Gurkhas and Oxfam volunteers. Our start time was 10:00am on Saturday,
so after a breakfast prepared by the Gurkhas, we set off. We got off to a great
start, the pace was good, but the temperatures were very high.
We were going brilliantly – faster than our training walks -
looking like we would come in well under the 24 hours, when the heat began to
take it's toll. Between stage 3 and 4 we had some heat stroke - which meant
slowing down, and being much more careful about taking on fluids and food.
After an extended stop, we got back on the trail, and were going well again.
The support of our crew, and the Gurkhas and Oxfam volunteers was invalauble -
but the support that the teams showed to each other out on the course was what
really kept us going.
The sunset as we
reached the mid point of our walk - 50k
in.
And with welcomes like this you need to try to keep smiling!
As the day wore on the walk started taking it's toll on our
feet, with everybody starting to get blisters. I have never suffered with them
before, and had thought they would not be a problem. By stage 7, I had a few,
but we had managed to treat them at the checkpoints.
Our support team, and the Gurkhas kept us going. A hot meal
at 3:00 in the morning helped – but everytime we stopped in was more difficult
to start again – getting reacquainted with the pain...
The night walking was fairly hypnotic – just concentrating
on the 6 feet in front of you and keep moving. The sun rise was another
breakthrough – but we still had a long way to go.
Between Checkpoint’s 8 and 9 my blisters got to the point
where I could barely walk – and I was not sure how we – or I – would get to the
finish. In the end the team insisted we try to sort them out at the side of the
track – so with compeed, bandages, plaster and gaffer tape, 'Dr' Leon mended my
feet as best we could and carried on.
24 hours was out of the question – so we reset our target
for 26 hours – and carried on.
Through very gritted teeth we pushed on – we had fantastic
support from all of the teams around us. At each stop you would see more people
having to pull out – but we pushed on through.
We made it in 25 hours 58 minutes.
To Leon, who was a late replacement in our team, for being
pacemaker, medic and motivator – if you were in the trenches you would want him
next to you. To Michael, for keeping up his humour, and countyside ‘warnings’ all
the way round, and to Neale, for suggesting this in the first place, and for
lying to me for the last 10k about how far we actually were from the finish
line.
If you had asked me on Sunday if I would do I again the
answer would have been no – today, as my blisters are at a point when I can
almost walk normally again – I’m not so sure.
Thanks to everyone who sponsored us – we smashed through our
initial target , and our second and third targets. If you didn’t get a chance
to sponsor us it’s not too late – it would be great to break the £3000:
