The Aftermath

Gurkha Curry!

Once we'd crossed that finish line, life suddenly got a whole lot easier again. It was such an enormous sense of relief that we didn't have to walk any more and that we could TAKE OUR BOOTS OFF!! Actually we didn't take our boots off straight away but it was lovely to know that we could, if we'd wanted to. In a bit of a stupor we accepted our certificates and timings sheets then listened to the Gurkha briefing about what happens on the podium. Then we were up there, with 'prop' medals as they had run out, having our photos taken... first just the walkers, then with the support crew as well. Our next stop was the dining area for giant plates full of Gurkha curry and cup after cup of sugary tea.

Rachel recovering

Next priority was to get out of our wet, muddy boots and waterproof trousers and get into some clean, dry gear. We made our way gingerly to the minibus (muscles having stiffened up considerably in the short time it took to devour the Gurkha curry). The first thing which greeted us back at the bus was Rachel, already deep into recovery mode (aka sleep!). Something which did surprise me about this ere Trailwalker thing was that we didn't particularly notice the 'staying up all night' and actually didn't at any point feel sleepy tired. Rachel proved conclusively that it all hits you when you stop!

Removing wet kit... bliss!

We carefully removed our footwear, taking care not to disturb any blisters too much, and wet weather gear. The mud had got up as far as my knees on the INSIDE of my waterproof trousers... how did that happen?! Boots were thrown into a bin bag along with pairs discarded earlier in the weekend due to being soaked through. With dry, warm clothes on (I was starting to feel very cold, despite the warmth of the sun... some kind of shock I imagine) we all piled into the muddy minibus and Kirsty headed home. We followed a lorry load of portaloos about half the way home, prompting some speculation about whether anyone had made use of those particular units at any time over the weekend.

Muddy boots.

The unloading of the minibus occurred in something of a blur and baths, food and drink followed in quick succession as we headed rapidly for bedtime on Sunday night. After a good long sleep I tried to get out of bed on Monday morning... big mistake! Calves were solid, couldn't straighten my legs, could barely walk. We couldn't face cleaning the boots immediately so laid them out on a bin bag to dry out a little first. 2 of Blister Sisters had managed to muddy up 7 pairs of boots/shoes. When we eventually got around to cleaning them on Tuesday, it took us 2 hours!

On Sunday after we finished, the pre-walk certainty that we would be doing this again had become a little more uncertain. However, by the next day the desire was back, as long as it wasn't in those conditions again. 2 members of Blister Sisters have already said that they will not be repeating the experience so for the remaining 2 (Sam & I) we need to find 2 more mugs teammates for next year. Hoping for dry conditions, we would like to finish within 24 hours next time. It's definitely possible.

Until then, I'll love you and leave you. xxx

The Big Day - Part 4

Gelly looking chirpy once again

Gelly was better on stage 8 and we made fairly good time to CP8 at Jack and Jill windmills. We dibbed in here at 8:19 and finally the weather was looking like brightening up!

A huge surprise at this checkpoint was the arrival of some family and friends for moral support. The dreaded stage 9, the longest on the course, was coming up next so we all tucked into some food, topped up our camelbaks and stripped off our warm night-time layers. Rachel had a big wobble here. She wanted to stop following the injury sustained in her fall at the bottom of Beacon Hill, all those hours ago, the pain had been getting steadily worse. We persuaded her to keep trying, given how close we were to completing, and she agreed to start the next stage knowing that there was the option of a pick up at Ditchling Beacon car park should it prove to be the wrong decision.


Once again we were stopped for quite a while at this checkpoint, mainly due to the family and friends this time, and it was tough getting the stiff muscles going again as we set off.


Unlike many of the stages there is no big hill at the start of stage 9 so we fairly beetled along at the start. When we got to Ditchling Beacon car park Rachel decided once and for all that she would drop out, not wanting to do further damage to her knee nor prevent the team completing in under 30 hours (which was starting to look a bit touch and go after all of our delays). We rang the support crew to come and collect her and reported her withdrawal to the Gurkha guarding the road then the remaining 3 continued, a little subdued. Stage 9 was long, but the first 6 or 7 miles are fairly harmless, gently undulating and not particularly muddy. The final bit however is a different matter... the muddy, narrow path by the Lewes gallops seems to go on for ever. Gelly fell for a second time here, and a Gurkha came rushing to her rescue, but she just got up and kept walking... Terminator! At this point we were just heads down and get on with it... slightly confused by the signs which didn't tie in with the instructions but we followed them blindly and ended up in the right place. As we trudged across the CP9 field we had mixed feelings... ONLY 2 more hours of walking on the plus side but STILL 2 more hours of walking on the downside.

Still smiling after 57 miles

At CP9 we all tucked into veggie fajitas cooked by Alex (SC) which were delicious. Some of the family and friends who'd met us at Jack and Jill were still with the crew at CP9 and Gary (Gelly's husband) walked with us from there to the finish, which was a welcome distraction.

We were now on a new schedule, trying to get in within the 30 hour limit, so we departed the checkpoint after only 30 minutes and set off up hill (always uphill!). Despite everything we were still smiling as we reached the top! By this stage it was one foot in front of the other. Blisters were hurting and muscles were tight but we knew we were nearly there. CP 10 was a toilet and tea stop and an opportunity to poke fun at another (male) participant who was showing off doing press ups near the CP exit... I said "so what, you haven't been using your arms", His friend chuckled and the macho man slunk away looking sheepish.

The final half mile

The final few miles felt like hundreds and there was a lovely muddy path with about a mile and a half to go... just to remind us of what we'd been through over the last 62 miles, as if we needed it! After what seemed like hours, we were at last walking along the track of Brighton Racecourse, we could see the finish and the banners and people cheering and waving. We managed 'hands aloft' as we approached the line and the feeling of having completed the challenge was amazing. We completed in 29 hours and 32 minutes, just inside the 30 hour limit.

It was a real shame the conditions were so awful, but we are so proud of having completed the challenge in the year which will be remembered as the worst since the event began in the UK in 1997.

3 remaining team plus support crew on the podium

Next year... who knows!

To be continued... ?

The Big Day - Part 3

Halfway Cake!

After a surprise 'Halfway Cake' from the support crew we departed checkpoint 5 with darkness on the outside and inside... we knew these next 2 stages, overnight, were going to be tough going, and so it proved. The first mile after CP5 is mostly tarmac so we had dry feet for a short time, an unbelievably amazing sensation! Soon though we were onto a chalky, muddy, uphill track towards Chanctonbury Ring. Our headtorches really didn't enable us to see the mud well enough and we slowed down noticeably during the hours of darkness.

Stage 6 should have taken about 2 hours, it actually took 3 hours. CP6 is right next to a river and, just like CP4, was under several inches of water. We'd taken so long to get there that we really needed something... despite not having the support crew meet us we all took the opportunity to down some of the Tomato soup on offer and have a 5 minute sit down on the Gurkha campbeds inside a tent. This was a very low point, at our current pace we knew that we had about another 3 hours until we saw the crew again, our feet were drenched and we were cold and miserable.

There was no point prolonging the agony so we struck out again, wading through the water towards the river footpath which was ankle deep in mud and there was a real danger of slipping down the bank in the darkness. Finally the path came to an end and we emerged into a housing estate, onto a short stretch of tarmac... bliss! The bliss soon turned to despair as we began a long uphill section on a muddy but stony track. Gelly was really struggling at this point, regularly dropping to her knees on the ground, feeling nauseous and entirely lacking in energy. She took an anti-sickness pill, downed an energy gel and plodded on stoically to the top of the hill, but all at a slow pace. Once at the top we were onto a mile of flat tarmac and this gave her enough time to recover a bit.

CP7 shrouded in mist

We began the final approach to CP7 in the early morning light but we were not to be rewarded with a dramatic sunrise as everywhere was blanketed in mist. It had rained for most of the night and we didn't arrive at CP7 until 05:33... 2 hours behind schedule. There was Gurkha food available at CP7 but we elected to go straight to our crew and get the maximum amount of relaxation time and tlc as possible. We had rung ahead to inform the crew of Gelly's situation and they made sure she ate some proper food to help her recover.

Shell-shocked at CP7

Checkpoint 7 marked two thirds distance and felt like a real milestone after such a difficult night. Once again we spent much longer here than planned and this was the first time that Rachel's problems began to surface. She took a very long time to get going again after the stop. We didn't really notice as we were so tired, but the support crew did. Some proper food and a bit of a rest perked Gelly up enough to carry on and eventually we all set off again, heading for the Jack and Jill windmills, just over 4 miles away, a nice short stage.


To be continued...

The Big Day - Part 2

CP3

Checkpoint 3 was closed to support crews because it was a bog, in keeping with most of the course.

Stages 3 and 4 are relatively short so not seeing our support crew at CP3 was not too bad. We wasted little time at the checkpoint, just dibbing in and getting on our way again. Traipsing through mud was becoming rather old hat by this time, it was a rare and welcome surprise to get a dry bit of track or road. Also it was raining on and off (but mostly on) for the whole of this part of the walk.

Particularly muddy section

We were generally comfortable in our wet weather clothes but keeping feet dry was just about impossible, the mud was over the tops of our boots in places. CP 4 was in a field by a river, and getting in and out of it involved wading through ankle deep water. So we changed our socks and boots but 5 minutes into stage 5 they were soaked through again. The majority of the walk was done with wet feet and it's a miracle we didn't get more blisters between us.  We knew it would be muddy, but we thought there would also be dry sections.. in reality about 80% of the course was muddy to a greater or lesser extent.

Rachel in the mud near CP4

We dibbed into CP4 at 7 minutes past 7 and set off again about 30 minutes later. Our plans for 20 minute stops went right out of the window because we needed the extra time to tend to our feet in the wet conditions. The support crew were superb but even they could not really make the checkpoints relaxing... it was frantic foot repair every time. Stage 5 is the second longest single stage on the course, it starts off alongside the river so, of course, it was very muddy! Then we had a welcome stretch of road up, up and away onto the Downs again... why are they called Downs, when there is so much Up? Walking stage 5 was very rewarding because we knew that when we reached CP5 we would be at the halfway point of the challenge.

The final approach to checkpoint 5 was bad. It was dark (dib in time 22:39) and there is a 400m stretch of footpath which was ankle deep in thick mud. In normal circumstances it would take about 5 minutes to walk, but in the mud it took about 20 minutes and we all nearly fell so many times. We collapsed into the gazebo in relief when we finally got there and, once we'd removed footwear, tucked into some hot pasta with chilli... just what the doctor ordered! Due to the weather-enforced closure of checkpoint 6 we would not be seeing the support crew again until CP7... according to the schedule that was over 4 hours away... a depressing thought.

To be continued...

The Big Day - Part 1

It finally arrived. The day we had been thinking about, planning and training for over the last 6 months. Friday evening the four walkers (Gelly, Rachel, Sam & I) drove over to Queen Elizabeth Country Park to register with the organisers, get fitted with our tracking bracelets and sign the equipment disclaimer forms. We also took the opportunity to sample some Gurkha tucker, in the shape of pasta bolognaise, and chat to a few other participants.

Despite an early night, none of us got much sleep and we were all up early for a 07:30 departure in the minibus. Due to illness Pauline was unable to be a part of the support crew on the day, so Kirsty stepped in at the last minute.. I wonder if she knew what she was letting herself in for!?  Everyone was in high spirits on the drive to Petersfield, the sun was shining and we were keen to get going. On arrival at QECP we helped ourselves to an athlete's breakfast of sausages, bacon & beans provided once again by the Gurkha chefs.

The start

Our start time was 10am (which we chose on the basis of getting as much sleep the night before as possible, the other options being 6,7,8 or 9am) so the majority of participants had already set off when we were getting ready. We all 'dibbed*' into the start area and stripped off our coats as it was getting quite warm already. At 10am the Gurkha pipers sprang to life and the klaxon sounded, sending us on our way.

*dibbing involves sticking the bit of electronics around each of our wrists into a bigger bit of electronics held by a Gurkha, at the start, every checkpoint and finally at the finish... it is this which allows the individuals and teams progress to be tracked.

Striding out in stage 1

At the start we were walking in a big crowd. It was difficult for the 4 of us to stay together and also to go at our pace. Within 10 minutes of setting off the rain started and the coats we'd hastily stowed in our rucksacks not 15 minutes earlier were quickly retrieved and donned. Other people stopping to sort out their wet weather gear caused a natural thinning out of the crowd and, despite the rain, it was a bit more pleasant. The terrain on Stage 1 was mostly stony tracks and tarmac so not too much mud to contend with (although there was one track which was grim) and we made good time to CP1... 1h47m (5m ahead of schedule).

Pit stop at CP1

We stopped for 20 minutes at CP1 for food, drinks, toilet (portaloos - the less said about those the better!) and changes of boots/shoes. Most other teams strategies seemed to not involve much of a stop at Checkpoint 1 and we found ourselves right at the back of the pack as we set out again (although we had completed stage 1 half an hour quicker than some teams, obviously none of them were in the 10am start group OR they didn't stop at CP1), and we had the Gurkha 'sweeper team' a few hundred metres behind us for the whole of stage 2... disconcerting!

Scrambling up Beacon Hill

Talking of stage 2... this is where it started to get muddy. Not dreadful yet, but quite bad. This is when the 10am start time began to look like a mistake... nearly 2000 pairs of feet had already been along the paths churning it up before we got there. The approach to Beacon Hill was a steep downhill muddy path which claimed 2 victims.. both Gelly and Rachel slipped and fell. Both got up again and ploughed on towards and then up the hill, which itself was extremely slippery as it is so steep. We pulled into CP2 4 and a half hours after leaving QECP, still on 24 hour schedule. Once again we had excellent support from our crew, providing us with enough food, drinks & cheeriness to see us through until CP4... this would be the next time we would meet them due to the weather-enforced closure of CP3.

To be continued...

7 days

7 days from now it will all be over. We will have walked 100km across the South Downs from Petersfield to Brighton, straight through the night, in the company of more than 2000 other people.  We are very much looking forward to it but also anticipate that it will be an even harder challenge than it might have been due to the unseasonably wet weather this year. The ground is saturated and even if we have a dry week (not forecast) it will still be extremely muddy, not only for the walkers but also for the Support Crew getting the minibus through field gateways at each checkpoint. Completing this challenge will be a huge achievement.

During the last 7 days we have passed our fundraising target of £2000, which is also an amazing achievement. We would like to thank everyone who has helped to make this possible.

Salisbury Saunter

Today we were still missing Gelly due to her ongoing (but slowly improving) injury situation. However, Rachel was back in training after some intensive physio on her calf muscle.

Ruins of the 11th Century Cathedral

For a change of scenery we headed off to Salisbury today, planning on using Rachel's house as a base for 3 loops of approximately 5 miles each... just a little 'tapering' walk with only 2 weeks to go until Trailwalker. The first challenge was finding a parking space on a busy Salisbury Saturday Market Day! We finally set off walking about half past 9, heading out of Salisbury in a northwesterly direction towards Old Sarum. We had a mooch around Old Sarum for 10 minutes before heading back to Rachel's house via a different route.

The Old Mill, lunch venue 

After a change of boots and handfuls of chocolate covered raisins (yum!) we set off again, this time towards the southeast, to do 2 mini loops around the 'suburb' of Harnham. The second time around we stopped at the Old Mill for a pub lunch... luxury!  They must have known we were coming because they had laid on some entertainment in the form of Morris dancers!


The chip butty went down very well...we're carb-loading, it's allowed!!

Carbs with carbs!

Suitably refuelled we embarked on our 3rd and final loop of the day, to the northeast of Salisbury this time. Our guide for this loop was Rachel's friend Gus who we met up with just after 2 and set off immediately out of town. This part of the walk was the hilliest and actually turned out to be the longest section of the day. It was nearly full sunshine by this time so we were starting to feel pretty hot. At the top of the biggest hill we were treated to some cracking views back over Salisbury so it was well worth the effort getting up there.


By the end of the day we'd covered 17.33 miles, at a cracking pace... average moving pace of 16.25 minutes per mile. The (slightly confused) route is here.

Pollen Cloud

We had provisionally planned a monstrous 40 miler for yesterday, with exactly 3 weeks to go before Trailwalker.


Initially all four team members were fit and available for this final mammoth training trek but in the week leading up to it, both Rachel (calf muscle) and Gelly (ankle) were ruled out... preferring to start the event fully fit and slightly less well trained than better trained but nursing injuries... probably a wise decision.

The gorgeous Hampshire countryside, early morning.

This left just Sam & me to tackle the 40 on our own. We planned to walk 5 times round an 8 mile loop (which included a killer hill near the end), coming back to the car between each loop for a 'pit-stop'... fuel & footwear.

We set the alarm for early and crawled out of bed, somehow managing to be awake and walking by 06:19! It was pretty quiet around; in fact we saw absolutely nobody on the first 8 mile loop, hardly surprising that early on a Saturday morning. The car was still all on its lonesome in the car park and we had a super quick 10 minute break then set off, in the opposite direction, for loop 2.

Loop 2 was completed with minimum fuss and bother, and we stopped for 15 minutes at the end of that as it involved changing socks and boots as well as shovelling down a load more pasta salad. Loop 3 went much the same way, and included the very steep hill at the end, the photo doesn't really do it justice but it gives an idea.


Loop 4 started off well enough but about 2miles from the end things started to get interesting. We had just started crossing a large field towards West Wood and almost immediately we could see what looked like a dust cloud hovering over the field. We instantly knew what it was (grass pollen!) as we'd seen the same thing a couple of years ago, on the same field, on a bike ride... that time my eyes swelled up like golf balls within minutes and stayed that way for several days, despite overdosing on antihistamine. Having already dosed up on antihistamine and not wanting to interfere with our plans/schedule we ploughed on. 10 minutes later my eyes started itching and swelling and this time, for added fun, my throat decided to get really sore and feel like it was swelling up too... rather a concern. We were right out in the sticks at this point so kept walking (I could still breathe, obviously!) so that we were closer to civilisation should this get out of hand. When we got back to the car, my throat and eyes were still swollen (although fortunately not getting worse) and, to top it all I was developing a sizeable blister on my left heel. We'd done 32 miles, I didn't want to cross that field again and I didn't want to make the blister any worse with just 3 weeks to go so we decided to call it a day and head home.

When I got home I discovered a new development with the grass pollen allergy... a lovely rash on my torso, arms and neck.


It was a bit disappointing to have not completed the 40 miles, especially as we both still felt strong in the legs, but all in all we were still quite happy with 32 given the difficulties.

The battery on the Garmin watch gave out around halfway round the 4th loop, but here is the route anyway.

Lessons Learnt

Following on from the title of the previous support crew post, our second outing to look after our beloved walkers was a very different affair.  We'd spent a while working out what hadn't worked last time and deciding on the best ways to rectify it.  (Apologies that this post appears out of sequence, but I've only just got around to writing about the event - meanwhile, as you will have seen, some of our walkers have been out yet again for more training).

Packing the bus

Perhaps the most important innovation for the second support crew run was the use of giant plastic, stackable, boxes.  We can't really take credit for the idea - it was recommended during the preparation workshop by one of last year's teams.  It meant that, in contrast to our numerous assorted bags last time around, we had eight very organised containers. Each walker had their own personal kit box, packed by them, with all their essentials. We then had four more boxes containing:  cooking and cleaning equipment; pots, pans, crockery and cutlery; savoury/dried food; sweet food.  We also had our various cool-boxes containing drinks and fresh ingredients.

The contents for each of the boxes was agreed sometime in advance, so everyone then knew where to lay their hands on a specific item. One of the most useful aspects of this new approach is that it took much less time to unpack/pack the mini-bus at each stop. We could get everything out and ready to start preparing in a matter of minutes - a big contrast to the well-meaning shambles that we managed during our last training run.

Walkers at rest - first stop

Prior to our walkers arriving, we'd laid out rugs to keep their feet dry and then allocated each a chair next to their personal kit box.  Our makeshift kitchen (two gas rings this time - making all the difference) was ready to churn out a variety of meals after the walkers phoned in their orders a few minutes before arrival.

Another innovation was Becky's purchase of a new iPhone and obtaining a power splitter for the mini-bus to keep everything charged and running from the cigarette lighter socket. This meant for the vast majority of their walk, the support crew were able to find the walkers' location on our iPad - it really made a difference knowing where they were in relation to us at any point.  It helped us keep on time for things and, speaking personally, made me feel more connected to their experience.

We were also delighted to have our support crew up to full strength with the addition of Lottie.  She really made a difference, and for this walk we'd allocated different crew members different jobs.  Lotte's included timing every stop and this ensured everyone stayed focussed - of the five stops on the day, four lasted the allotted 20 minutes and only one ran over (for good reason) by an extra 3 minutes. Lotte's tracking also included projecting arrival times and the careful logging of each walker's food and liquid intake.

At the end of an eventful but rewarding day the crew agreed that our new found organisation had really made us much more effective at supporting our walkers.  A few minor tweaks and we will be ready to do it for real in July.

Postscript:

The only significant crisis during the day was that at one point, one of the support crew PUT THE PRINGLES AWAY INTO THE SWEET RATHER THAN SAVOURY FOOD BOX.

Now, I should confess that I might have developed a slight OCD perspective on the importance of packing these boxes in an orderly manner, but I'm sure you will agree with me that this would have been the thin end of the wedge.

IT WOULD HAVE STARTED WITH THE PRINGLES but, before you know it, our standards would have dropped irretrievably and we'd be STORING MARS BARS IN THE SAME BOX AS THE CUP-A-SOUPS and once that had happened, well, I can only imagine that we would be minutes away from complete anarchy. Soon enough I'd find A TUB OF MARGARINE STUFFED INSIDE A WELLY BOOT.  I shudder at the thought.

I'm not OCD about the boxes.  I'm NOT.  Well, maybe just a little bit ;-)

What a load of crop!

Today we went out locally on a short (16 miles) training walk, mainly to try out the loops (actually the same loop but in both directions) we will be using on our one and only 40 miler later in June. Today is exactly 5 weeks until Trailwalker and we started walking at exactly 10am, our start time for the event.

We set off into West Wood and out the back across the 'hayfever field' onto the track beyond, then tried out a new footpath which cut off the corner of the road down to Up Somborne. Everywhere was pretty overgrown but passable and the countryside was as green as I have ever seen it, not surprising given all the recent rain!

We made really good time for the first 5 miles, consistently less than 17 minutes per mile. Then we arrived at Ashley Glebe Farm. At this point the footpath goes straight across a big field and normally there is a vehicle width track through the middle of whatever is growing, but today we encountered shoulder high something (possibly rapeseed plants?) everywhere we looked, no way through. We knew where the footpath was supposed to be so set off to battle our way through, and a battle it truly was. The plants were all interconnected and very tough, it was a real energy drainer. I can feel a complaint to the council coming on! That one mile took over 26 minutes and the field probably only accounted for less than a quarter of it.

After that, the remaining few miles back to the car was a breeze. We had a bit of food and a change of socks and boots and then set off again on the same loop in the opposite direction. We'd already decided to circumnavigate the offensive field on the return trip but had a difference of opinion about which way to do so. I favoured anti-clockwise and that is the way we went... wrong decision! After about 10 minutes of walking the field and hedge merged into one and there was no way through. So we turned round, went back and set off again clockwise... much better... smooth track right round to where we could rejoin the footpath on the far side of the field. As it turns out, it would have been quicker (although not easier) to plough through.

Part of the route took us up a very steep hill, about in the centre of this picture, off to the right of the road. When we do the 40 miles, we will have to go up this 3 times, the last time after 39 miles... that will be a test!

The rest of the walk was incident-free and we got back to the car after 5 hours of walking and 16.21 miles covered. The route is here, the attempted detour round the blocked footpath field can be clearly seen!

5 6 7 8 9

Yesterday was our second, and final, dry run with the full complement of 4 walkers and 4 support crew. The aim of the game was to start from CP4 (Houghton), where we finished the last dry run, and finish at CP9 (Kingston Hollow).

After a fair few emails, phone calls and general conversations we arranged to meet up at 07:30, load up the minibus and set off by 08:00. By 08:15 we were trundling down the M27 with Pauline at the wheel and much frivolity in the back.

By 09:45 we were walking. We waved goodbye to the Support Crew and set off towards the bridge and the challenges beyond, firstly the High Titten road and the climb up to Rackham Hill. Actually, on fresh legs, this wasn't too bad! We couldn't use the actual checkpoint so we arranged to meet up with the support crew at Washington car park on the east side of the A24. When we got there they had set up some picnic blankets, 4 chairs and our personal kit boxes, under the shade of some trees. We were served egg and/or bacon sandwiches to order and had our drink bladders filled up by the crew, leaving us free to change our socks and boots as required. It was fabulous! 20 minutes later, feeling very buoyed up we set off again with renewed vigour, up another hill of course. The first stage (aka Stage 5) is here.

Super speedy sheep shearing

As we'd used an alternative checkpoint we missed out a short section of the Trailwalker route, joining it again just before Chanctonbury Ring. We saw some sheep-shearing along the way... impressive stuff, so quick! Most of this stage is downhill so we made good time from Chanctonbury down to Botolphs but again, we couldn't use the actual checkpoint so instead opted for a noisy but convenient car park just off the A283. We had a tiny crisis of navigational confidence on the approach resulting in a 5 minute wild goose chase, but we were soon back on track and it really served to confirm that walking the actual route is really valuable. This was another smooth stop comprising a variety of foods, new socks and boots and replenished drinks. The section is here.


We set off again, uphill of course, towards Beeding Hill, once again rejoining the actual route after the detour to the alternative checkpoint. The next stage took us to Devils' Dyke, a place with quite outstanding scenery all around. In order to have those views of course, it needs to be high up... more hills! Here are Rachel, Sam and Gelly trudging up one lovely incline towards the Devils' Dyke pub... sadly we weren't actually going to be stopping there, instead we trudged on by and met up with our support crew at a very dusty Summer Down car park. Section 7 is here.

The routine was getting well-honed by this time and we were soon off again, heading for Jack and Jill Windmills, only just over an hour's walk away. We arrived at Jack and Jill windmills to the usual set up and 'Alex burgers'... veggie or beef as per one's preference. We knew we needed to stock up on energy for stage 9, the longest on the route, with notoriously difficult navigation near the end. The stage 8 route is here.

The skies had clouded over but still didn't look threatening so we set off in our normal walking gear. Oh dear. The first hour was ok, it was easy terrain, flat and grassy and we made good time. Then it started to rain... only a little at first but slowly and steadily getting worse and worse. Our clothes got steadily wetter, our feet got steadily wetter, we got steadily colder and more and more fed up. We did negotiate the tricky section at the end of the stage with relative ease which was the one high point in a grim 90 minutes. As we walked across the checkpoint 9 field towards where our support crew were picking us up at the gate, we saw them flashing the headlights on & off like a beacon shining through the gloom, it was most encouraging. They also had the heating turned up to max in the bus and braved the weather to come into the field and cheer us on for the last few yards... top marks to our crew! Stage 9 is here.

After a quick change into dry clothes and scoffing of snacks and drinks we set off for home. This involved an amazing reverse along a narrow, twisty, downhill track onto a proper road, no mean feat in a vehicle about the same width as the track and with a ditch all down one side, in the dark and in driving rain. Pauline (chief driver) remained calm throughout, despite a number of backseat drivers.

One more long (40 mile) walk planned for 3 weeks time, then the real thing will be upon us!

Queen of the Road

Today we opted for some cross-training, in the form of a 25 mile bike ride. We set out at 9am but even by that time it was getting very hot! We haven't done much cycling this spring because of a) the downpour that was April and most of May and b) walking training has taken up most of our spare time. I found out today that walking does not use your thigh muscles as much as it must use other muscles. Normally I would find 25 miles not too strenuous but today my thighs were screaming by the end.. bizarre.

Anyway, enough about my legs. The bike ride will stay in our minds mainly because of the Queens dotted about all over the place. Random effigies of old Liz lined the route... some looking just like a bonfire guy and others rather more sophisticated. The 2 best were one propped up on a bike outside someone's gate and one with a mechanical arm which waved! Now I don't remember seeing anything like this at Silver or Golden so it must be a new thing... weird.  Unfortunately we were whizzing past too fast to take any pictures.

Half Distance

Yesterday, half of Blister Sisters walked half of the Trailwalker distance. 31.8 miles in 3 loops of 10.6 miles each, stopping at the car for 20 minutes between each loop for a change of socks/boots and some food.

The countryside was in full bloom... everywhere green and lush after all the rain. It was lovely walking weather... a mixture of sunshine and cloud, a good temperature and not wet... what a treat to not need waterproofs!

It was still pretty muddy in places so we needed gaiters, but otherwise the conditions couldn't really have been better... note to Mother Nature - same again on 14/15 July please!!

The first loop went smoothly enough, just over 3 hours to do 10.6 miles which is a very good pace. No aches or pains. Halfway through the second loop, however, I started to feel nauseous. Not chronically so, but enough to make it all very much more challenging. I made sure I kept sipping water constantly and trudged on to the next break. As soon as I stopped moving and sat down I started to feel better. I ate some pasta and half a lemon flavoured energy bar, drank more drink and we both changed our socks again (it's amazing how nice this simple thing is!) before setting off on the 3rd and final loop. The first 2 miles were fine but then the nausea came on again and stayed for most of the next 3 hours until we finished... very difficult.

I am going to have to tackle this because it could prove to be a show-stopper on the event itself which is twice as far as the walk yesterday. I'm not sure I could have contemplated walking another 30 miles feeling like that. First stop... ask the pharmacist for advice about over the counter anti-sickness remedies.

Especially given my sickness, we were very pleased with completing almost 32 miles. Those 32 miles were more difficult than the first 32 miles will be on the day because we had to do it with less frequent breaks and no support crew to help, so we were having to do everything ourselves at the stops which meant we didn't really get to rest much. I can really see what past participants mean when they say they couldn't have completed it without the support crew... I suspect I couldn't either!

Despite the lows, there were also some highs on the walk. Strolling past some cows with massive horns was one of them... we had to assume they were friendly as they were loose on a public footpath, but they really looked like they could do you damage if they chose to. There were impressive!

The watch battery ran out halfway round the final loop but the route is here.

MapMyWalk

Having had a busy day yesterday, and a big walk planned for next Saturday (31 miles), we decided to just do a short fast one today... 3 hours ish. Also, it was an opportunity for me to try out the MapMyWalk app on my new iPhone!

We knew it would still be muddy everywhere so opted for a mostly road route, starting and finishing at Braishfield Village Hall. We set the Garmin watch and MapMyWalk going at exactly the same time. However, by the end of the 3 hours MapMyWalk had measured 11.14 miles while the Garmin watch had only recorded 10.59 miles... very interesting! I wonder which is right.

There's not much info on the MapMyWalk route (but to be fair, I could be using it wrongly!) but here it is anyway. The Garmin route is here.

Well Supported

... and now the Dry Run day from the walkers' perspective.

The preparation session was interesting and useful up to a point... but why are there always people who ask stupid questions, to which the answers are in the literature and on the website, and waste everyone's time!?

We walked from the start at Queen Elizabeth Country Park to Checkpoint 4 at Houghton, 23 miles give or take a few yards. At the start it was drizzly and cold and it was awkward getting ready in the minibus but eventually we set off at about 11:55. We made good time on the first section, which is relatively easy walking and surprised the support crew at CP1 but they still managed to provide bacon & egg sandwiches for the 3 of us who wanted them, and soup for Rachel. It was all a little disorganised, but still it felt like every effort was being made to make our lives as easy as possible.

Stage 2 included Beacon Hill, the steepest on the whole route, which left us puffing a bit and slowed us down but we still reached CP 2 bang on schedule, and this time the support crew were expecting us as we'd rung ahead with orders and an ETA... that worked well. This time there were boot/sock changes and a variety of food requests and we ended up spending 30 minutes at the CP... too long, it needs to be slicker.

Stage 3 is only short, little over an hour and a half of walking and we all thought we wouldn't want much at the end of it and we were right, just some cold snacks and topping up drinks. We got away promptly on 20 minutes.

During Stage 4 we had a discussion about whether we would continue into Stage 5 or stop at CP4 and we decided on the latter. We rang the crew and told them our decision so that they could organise the bus accordingly. By now we were feeling quite chilly and hungry and the thought of the hot pasta meal waiting for us at CP4 was a real boost.



The checkpoints got smoother as the day went on. The support crew learned more about how to organise themselves and the bus and the walkers got better at thinking ahead and making the most of the support. It's a real bonus to be able to just keep walking along the route, without the depressing thought of having to turn round and go back to the car.

We agreed some modifications to the procedures and kit and also that we would do another day early in June to try out the changes.

One of the other things we did was investigate the charging of the Garmin watch at the checkpoints, so the route is split into 3 bits. Stages 1 & 2 are here, Stage 3 is here and Stage 4 is here.

Learning lessons...

This has been the first time the support crew has actually had to live up to its name and generally so far we think we've done a reasonable job. We just about included all of the necessary kit, provisions and sundries and our team of walkers seem reasonably satisfied with the service.

However, we have learnt very clearly that we need to be more much organised in terms of how we store things inside the bus. At the moment we have a very varied assortment of bags stuffed (although not completely haphazardly) with various ingredients, dehydrated foods, crockery, pans, water - you name it, we've got it tucked away in our little minibus.

The difficulty is that each of the checkpoint stops needs to very efficient - a bit like a Formula 1 pitstop. The walkers need to quickly rest/tend to their feet, have the required food and refreshments and then get back underway.

Usually the exact meal requirements are phoned/texted in to us twenty or so minutes before the team arrives. Once the order is in and we know the ETA then we've got a really short period of time to get everything prepared. The overall numbers of teams entering mean we also can't get to the checkpoint too early. As soon as our walkers arrive, they might need to change certain clothing, boots or just have a craving for something specific.

Consequently, the biggest lesson today is that we need to be fantastically ordered - with everything in boxes. Personal items and kit will be separated out for each walker and food & common items will need to be organised so that anyone in the support crew can lay their hands on any specific item in seconds (at the moment, we've all contributed different things, so although everyone knows where something is, nobody knows where everything is. Cooking a meal is a very consultative exercise!)

Our aim will be to get the team refreshed and on their way as soon as practical, with minimal fuss or bother around them. Obviously they need to rest, but so far today the walkers are suggesting they want to get moving again a little more quickly than they've been able to. Hopefully our new ultra organised approach will let that happen.

Blog INVASION...

Hello!

You might consider that a slight mutiny is in the works - a blog takeover, if you will.  Let me introduce myself, I'm Alex, one of the 'support crew' for the Blister Sisters.

Becky has unwisely (and slightly reluctantly) given me access to post on this blog, so that during the TrailWalker event itself, we can update friends and family on the progress of the team.

If you have been paying attention to Becky's blatherings (sorry - I'm sure I meant to say 'wise words') so far, you may have spotted that our intrepid team of four will be supported throughout their barmy expedition by a support crew - that's where we come in.

We are:  Alex, Pauline, Sandie and Charlotte.   We are responsible for providing the team with food, refreshments and moral support as they stagger through the 100 kilometers.   We will meet them at the various checkpoints with our minibus laden with consumables - at the moment, largely expected to be food and socks - doling out comfort in whatever way we can.

The walking time between each checkpoint is about 2.5-3 hours, so we have plenty of time to get between each (even taking into account my undeniably flawed navigation skills).  All being well, we will arrive a few minutes ahead of our team to give us time to prepare ourselves.

Spending 24 hours in a minibus (no matter how delightful the company) might be a little on the dull side, so between stops I am making it my mission to continue to update this blog, twitter on incessantly and, quite possibly, post pictures and audioboo sound recordings to give you a real sense of how the team are doing.   You can now see the twitter updates for the team in the box in the top right hand corner of the blog - audioboos will also appear in amongst the tweets.

In all seriousness, 100km is a HUGE endeavour and I think I'm only now starting to realise what an impressive challenge they've all taken on.  Past participants have spoken very strongly of the importance of knowing that people at home are supporting and willing them on towards the end.   I really hope that you can join me for the live updates during the event itself - and especially hope you will contribute by posting/tweeting messages of support for us to pass onto the team.

P.S.  All the technology is getting a trial run this Saturday coming, so if you really REALLY want to, you can even follow along with our, first ever, walkers and support crew practice event. :)

When the Saints go marching in...

... we go marching out!

Today Southampton FC won promotion back to the Premier League with a convincing 4-0 victory over Coventry.

While they were doing that... we were out training, in the wind and rain! More specifically, Gelly & Sam were out training in the wind and rain... I was at home supervising the plumber. Gelly wanted to do some hill training and suggested repeating the night walk route twice to make up 21 miles. We hatched a plan that Gelly and Sam would start off and do the first loop while I stayed at home to wait for the plumber to finish, then I would drive out and meet them for the second loop.

In reality it worked pretty well: Gelly got her hill training and I got to stay indoors until the worst of the rain had passed through!

After all the rain in recent weeks the tracks were like quagmires in places. This definitely slowed us down a bit and we really hope it's drier on the actual day as that will make such a big difference.

Due to doing the double loop and taking some detours to avoid the worst of the 'puddles' our route looks a bit odd, but here it is anyway.

Halfway There

We have now raised just over £1000 towards our pledge of £2000. Thank you to everybody who has helped to make this happen.

Streets of London

Last week's blisters have still not properly healed so we had a weekend off training this week. However, we still did end up walking quite a few miles around London as we went up there for a visit to the Natural History Museum and the musical Ghost in the evening.

Today we went to Cotswold Outdoors in Hedge End so that I could get some advice on shoes/boots for my narrow feet. After about half an hour of conversation and trying on I bought a pair of Salomon Sector Mid GTX boots which are much narrower at the heel than my Merrells, so they should hold my heels more firmly and prevent the blisters which I keep getting on the inside edges of both heels.

The last thing to mention today is the weather. We have been spoiled the last couple of months with very dry weather so the tracks and paths have been easy to walk on. Today it has not stopped raining all day and everywhere is drenched. The mud will definitely be back!

Multiple Possible Titles

I couldn't decide on a title for this blog post, so I've been creative.

The first possible title is 'Marathon' because today we walked just over 26miles, which is the marathon distance (to any purists... yes I know we were a few yards short of the official marathon distance... I can live with that). We did it in 7 hours and 32 minutes of walking, this is faster than some people complete an actual marathon so we're fairly happy with that. We walked from near Checkpoint 4 (Houghton) to two thirds of the way along Section 6 and back again, the route is here.

The next possible title is 'Cow Belles' because there were several cow incidents on route today. Firstly, as we joined the proper Trailwalker route at Checkpoint 4, we had to go through a field full of young cows and they were obviously expecting things of us because as soon as we entered the field they were after us. I wasn't happy, despite Sam's reassurances... I'm not a fan of big, unpredictable animals because they can do damage. So we whipped through that field as fast as my little legs would go. Not long after this we came across a tiny calf which had escaped from its field and was looking a little lost. Sam has some farm animal experience so we briefly entertained the notion of trying to get it back in, but it wouldn't let us approach, we didn't want to frighten it and we were on a schedule so we left it and went on our way.

The third possible title is 'It's All About The Feet' because, for the first time, today we realised the truth of this. Neither of us were particularly worn out mentally or physically by walking 26 miles but we were both suffering with blisters which really made part of the walk unpleasant. Sam was wearing different (not new,  but not recently worn) boots today and even just 8 miles in was feeling rubbing on the balls of her feet. We stopped and patched her up a bit and carried on but really for the remainder of the walk she was in pain... what a trooper! I started to develop a fresh blister on the inside of my left heel (to go with the existing one on the inside of my right heel) with about 10 miles still to go. When I looked at it at the next break, my sock was very sweaty: lesson - take spare socks, and use them! Blister tally by the end of the walk: Sam - 7 (!), some of which are huge; Becky - 2, a matching pair on the insides of my heels. I decided not to include photos of the blisters!

The fourth possible title is 'I got chills, they're multiplying!'. Any doctors reading this who can explain? When we stop walking and allow ourselves to relax we start to get really cold & shivery, even if it is quite warm. Is this our bodies doing something useful? Note to self: take blankets/warm jumpers in the car for training walks, and in the minibus for the real thing.

The final possible title is 'Early To Rise, Early To Bed'. Having got up at 06:30 for a departure of 07:30 to start walking at 08:30, we were in bed by 21:30 due to being bloody knackered.

Night Walk

Yesterday evening we did our first training walk in the dark, and the first as a full team of four now that Gelly has recovered from her broken toe. We gathered at our flat and set off about 7.45 with plenty of layers of clothing and our head torches (or in Sam's case hand-held torch).

Before we left we actually managed to take our first full team photo!

The route was an exact replica of the route we walked during the day on Friday so starting and finishing at Farley Church via a figure of eight through Parnholt Wood and Farley Mount Country Park. Walking at night didn't seem too bad, the torches generally worked well and we were only 1 minute per mile slower than walking during the day... very pleased with that.

We're each going off to work on our own training now for a while then will get together again for a full team walk, with support crew, along the first four sections of the Trailwalker Route, on Saturday 5th May.

Recce

Today we walked a 10 mile figure of eight walk around Parnholt Wood / Farley Mount area. This is the route we are planning to do with the full team tomorrow evening in the dark and we wanted to see how far it was and how muddy it was and how long it took before tackling it at night. The answers are 10.55 miles, not very and 3 hours 4 minutes (walking time). We think it is likely we will walk slower at night due to having to take a bit more care with foot placement so it will be useful, for scheduling purposes, to know how much slower.

On our second trip along the 'waist' of the figure of eight, through Parnholt Wood, we bumped into a couple of friends who we sometimes go out walking with, they were out photographing the bluebells with their niece.

Route here as always.

Oh Deer, Oh Dear

Due to the ridiculous panic-buying of fuel during the week meaning that neither of us had more than half a tank, we decided not to drive out to the trailwalker route but to do a long training walk locally, starting and finishing at home.

We are lucky to live in a small town deep in the Hampshire countryside, on the edge of both the New Forest National Park and the western end of the South Downs... what a shame not to make the most of it. We trekked out towards the east, trying out a lot of new footpaths along the way, and made our way in a wide anti-clockwise circle staying off road as much as possible, and finishing off along the towpath of the Romsey canal  to within half a mile of home.

Along the way we saw a few deer. A couple were obliging enough to pose for a photo!

The walk ended up just over 24 miles, our longest yet and also the most difficult. Both of us were suffering a bit with various minor problems and found it quite hard going. However, it was encouraging that despite the difficulties and the proximity of home (meaning we could easily have cut it short), we kept at it and walked the whole planned route, still at a good pace. This was the first real mental challenge we've faced in training and we passed!

On the plus side... the hydration kits worked very well and this time we did take enough food.

The route is here, although it hasn't quite recorded the start properly as it took a while to lock on to satellites. Yes, we did go slightly wrong again!

Re. Hydration

We had a busy weekend so only time for a short walk yesterday afternoon (7 miles), which was mainly for testing out our new 'hydration' kits.

During the longer walks we've been doing we worked out that we really weren't drinking as much as we should be and thought that it was probably because of the hassle of getting the bottle from the rucksack, drinking whilst not tripping over, then putting the bottle back in the rucksack and trying to maintain a steady walking rhythm at the same time. In July we will need to drink a lot more than we are now so we decided to try out drinking tubes. Sam favoured the normal drinking bottle with tube attachment: the bottles sit in the side pockets of the rucksack and the tube attaches to the bottle cap then goes up over the shoulder and through loops on the straps. On the plus side, one bottle can contain water and the other isotonic drink but, on the downside the drinking tube needs swapping over at some point during a section.

I opted for the bladder type of hydration system. This is a large plastic sack which can be filled or part-filled with drink and slides into a purpose built pouch inside the rucksack. Then the drinking tube goes out through a purpose built hole in the shoulder strap and clips onto the front of the rucksack. The bladder can take up to 2 litres which means that it will only need to be refilled at every other checkpoint but I will need to make sure I drink isotonic drinks at the checkpoints if I am only drinking water en route. On the walk yesterday we each got through nearly a litre of drink in little under 2 hours which is about the recommended intake.

They both worked well and we are very pleased with them.

Today we took advantage of a day off work and the spring heatwave to do a bit of cross-training... 13 miles on the bikes... first ride of the year so we took it a bit easy. The plan is to get out for short rides a couple of evenings a week because weekends will be largely taken up with walking.

Going the Extra Mile

Yesterday (Sunday 18th March) we set out to walk stages 3 & 4 of the Trailwalker route, there and back again... a total of 22 miles. We parked at the Cocking Hill car park (very close to Checkpoint 2), loaded up our rucksacks and set out about 9am in glorious sunshine.

One aim of the walk was to try out the walking poles, kindly loaned by Gelly who is currently not walking due to her broken toe. I started out with them, trudging up the hill. Having fully intended to try them out for a whole stage, I was utterly fed up with them within a quarter of a mile and clipped them in to the ready made parts of the rucksack. More of a distraction than anything else I thought, I will be walking without poles... another decision made! Sam had never considered them as an option, and my opinion only served to reinforce that view!

Apart from the initial (long) uphill bit, stage 3 was fairly flat and we made good time for the first couple of hours (despite it being quite muddy in places), arriving at and passing Checkpoint 3 with a minimum of fuss.

Everywhere we looked there was a lovely view and a mile or so into stage 4 we stopped for a bite to eat on a grassy bank, 2 radio masts behind us and in front of us looking out over the Solent to the eastern end of the Isle of Wight (couldn't take a picture as it was straight into the sun!).

We got to Checkpoint 4 and hadn't quite gone 11 miles so we carried on walking a short way into stage 5 to make sure that we'd have walked 22 miles by the time we got back to the car... as it turned out it wasn't necessary. The return journey started with a long, steep climb and was our slowest mile of the whole walk (23 minutes). Approaching the radio masts for the second time we lost concentration for a little while and went the wrong way... we soon realised we weren't recognising our surroundings, consulted the map and turned around. 10 minutes later we were back to a junction where we should have turned and got back on track, having walked about a mile more than we should have done!!

When we got back to the car, we had walked 23.31 miles and we certainly felt it... there is still a lot more work to be done to be fully prepared for this challenge!

The route is here but it hasn't calculated the average pace properly for some reason. Our unplanned diversion can be clearly seen!

Climbing the Leaderboard

Last week we were 18th on the top 20 fundraising teams (out of 550).

This week we are 15th!! Thank you again to everyone who has helped to make this happen.

The Magnificent Seven

Today was the first day when all of the team and crew got together for the first time. Rachel, Sam and I walked 10 miles; Alex, Pauline and Sandie walked a couple of miles, and Geraldine cycled 8 miles (still nursing her broken toe). Then we all met up for a pub lunch and a bit of a chat, at the Queens Head in Burley, in the middle of the New Forest.

It was a beautiful, sunny, spring day... t-shirt weather. The 10 mile walk was not particularly demanding, being quite flat, but was very enjoyable, mostly through forest and scrubland. We had New Forest ponies for company from time to time but, despite Rachel's best efforts, they weren't very friendly!

Alex, Pauline and Sandie (aka The Support Crew) used their 2 mile amble to start some planning of their own, and over lunch we discussed their ideas and some of our own. Everyone now has a much clearer idea of what this challenge entails, and their role in it. Also, Rachel seemed pleased with the completion of 1/6 distance in a good time on her first training walk.

As we were starting our tenth mile, we were delighted to find that the locals had been out, preparing the way for us, including putting up signs warning motorists to watch out for us! We were having a lot of trouble trying to take a photo of all 3 of us plus the sign, so were grateful when a helpful passing motorist stopped and offered to take the photo... he seems to have done a reasonable job!

The route for the 10 miles is here.

We've half planned another get-together for sometime in April, date to be confirmed.