Where do I start?! It has taken me until now to get over the ordeal of this event and finally write a realistic report of the walk!
We arrived on Saturday morning in good spirits, all except Helen who arrived limping. Helen had injured her foot during a training walk and ended up in A&E unable to weight bare on her foot at all, she had aggravated an old ligament injury. We reassured her the nature of our challenge was just complete KM as as much as she could achieve would be appreciated and make dad proud. She was desperate to try however and so off we all went!
The first 5KM went smoothly aside from 1 problem - I started to get blisters! In all of my training walks I only started to get a rub at 6-7hours but stupidly on the day I chose to use an anti blister roll on which made my socks slip and rub my feet. This wasn't a good start but I stuck blister plasters on and carried on. The next 15KM were fun although we were surprised at the amount of mud we were wading through but the walking gave us a great opportunity to chat and catch up properly with each other. The weather however was miserable and thankfully we were well prepared! You can't tell from the photos just how hard the rain was hammering down!
The following 20KM (at 8 hours) were becoming more challenging - my blister plasters moved taking my loose skin with it and leaving me with sores on the balls of my feet. A clear divide appeared in the group between people's abilities and needs and so we split into smaller groups.
Louisa & Suzie took the lead from the start, both having done a similar event before and daft enough to do one again they headed off well ahead of the pack. Their speed provided its own challenges and aches and pains made for emotional phases but they steamed in at the finish in an incredible time of 23hours.
Helen, Vicky & Sarah made the next group. Sarah in particular battled nausea and walk induced illness in the 2nd half of the event. She questioned dropping it at several points but she persevered and battled on - true grit and determination! This group finished in a brilliant 26hrs. Helen is also writing a report for the Blog which you will be able to read at the end in the near future...
The final group consisted of the "invalids" my feet, Helen's foot, Rachel's sore joints and Andy's sore knees (requiring recent physio treatment). We stuck together and hence I can report on our experience in a little more detail - you will be able to read Helen's report below.
From 40-56KM we started to struggle but hung on to the idea of our proper hot dinner at the 56KM mark. We started counting down every KM from this point and were suddenly aware just how long a KM is! Helen was still going to everyone's amazement her foot was holding up with the aid of pain killers! The dark set in and we were behind time. 2/3rd of this walk is off road and with the torrential downpours in the days prior to the walk, most of the paths were mud swamps. This became extra dangerous in the dark and we passed many people struggling and requiring the paramedic services. Thank goodness we had walking poles and head torches! The countdown to the next rest stop seemed to take forever, we arrived ready to collapse only to find that most of the food had run out!!! Psychologically this was soul destroying. We got 1 sausage and a few bits of shredded pork, no bread, pasta or rice left. We sat down to wait for the dizziness to pass and Andy had a 20 minute nap. We were exhausted, painful and hungry! We ate instead our own energy bars and tried to drum up some motivational feelings to continue. The fact we were only just over half way and actually felt so low at this point none of us were expecting to finish but we all felt we can go a bit further.
So setting off on the final 20KM: we were dosed up, redressed and with a new found mental determination to finish this thing (and with the incentive of champagne awaiting us at the finish), we walked our quickest 20KM of the whole event! We powered through to the finish welcomed in the most brilliant finish of any event, by the rest of the team, friends and supporters of the event! It was incredibly emotional and I was so proud of every member of the team who completed this difficult and demanding challenge. It truly shows what a tough bunch we were and how strong mentally we are to have kept going throughout the injuries and exhaustion. I still can't believe we did it!
An extra VERY SPECIAL mention must go to our support crew Dave, Ed & Dan who followed us in the car all the way - having to stay for hours at stops tendering to all 3 separate groups and as a result barely got any sleep themselves. They were there for us every step of the way for our every need (usually taking used clothing/equipment to lighten the load to carry), and they were a huge emotional support too - their hugs were much needed at the rest stops! We literally would not have completed it without them. Well done guys you are all the best!
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