THANK YOU

Nearly two weeks on from completeing Trailwalker and blisters are healing and those niggly aches and pains that start to appear after hours and hours and hours of walking have faded away. Perhaps more surprisingly, after what we went through, some of us are restless for the next challenge! Any suggestions would be welcome.

The organisers have managed to get our medals out in the post and they're a great reminder of an amazing experience and incredible achievement.

We finally crossed the finish line in a very commendable 147th place.
In the 15 year history of Trailwalker UK, they have never had such poor conditions throughout the event. In fact, 433 walkers had to drop out and only 238 teams finished with all 4 members. It's been officially named as the toughest Trailwalker UK on record!

Between our two teams we have so far managed to raise a fantastic total of £3209. So thank you very much to every one who has so generously supported us. We still have more money pledged, so our final total, when we hand the money over to Oxfam and the Gurkha Welfare Trust, will be much higher.

On behalf of teams l'entente cordiale & l'entente cordial part deux I would like to say a few thank yous.

Firstly, to Steve who was the inspiration behind our participation in this mad event. He must be a popular chap as not many people would be able to enthuse 7 different people from both sides of the channel to walk 100km with him. He bought us all together and over the 2 days we shared lots of emotions, saw some beautiful sights and all forged new friendships. Plus we got rained on a lot!

Secondly to Jill and Oliver for their hospitality the night before the walk and great send off at the start. It was much appreciated and the decent nights sleep made a big difference to us all.

Next to our amazing support team of Rachel and Pui. The sight of them at each check point was always welcome. They did a fantastic job and I'd always be willing to write them a great reference if any teams in the future want to employ their services.

The unsung heroes of Trailwalker must be the Queens Gurkha Signals. Their organisation & running of the logistics of the event, manning the checkpoints and providing food and drinks was amazing. Plus each and everyone of them was incredibly cheerful and they always had words of encouragement to help participants on their way. So thanks to all of them.

And finally the biggest thanks of all must go to all our friends, families and work colleagues who have supported us throughout this with geneorous donations. The whole reason behind Trailwalker is to raise loads of money for Oxfam and the Gurkha Welfare Trust and we're so pleased to have been part of this and to have been able to raise such a fantastic amount for these two very worthy causes.

So once again, thank you to you all.

Neil & all of the members of teams l'entente cordiale & l'entente cordial part deux

P.S. Don't forget that by giving us a donation you've been automatically entered into taking part in next years Trailwalker. So you'd better start training & good luck to you all!!!

SUCCESS. WE DID IT!!

After 100kms of hard slog we crossed the finish line 26 hours, 59 minutes and 55 seconds after we started. And, as the Trailwalker UK slogan says, it was EPIC.

(Although anyone that took part would also say it was WET & MUDDY!!)

On the Friday evening we had all arrived from different directions at Queen Elizabeth Country Park, for an evening meal courtesy of the Gurkhas. Plenty of pasta and bolognese sauce to build up the carbohydrates! The guys in the field kitchen did an amazing job to feed several thousand hungry & expectant people. I had arrived earlier to attend the safety briefing from the Gurkha commanding officer who had the job of giving us all the bad news that 3 of the checkpoints would be closed to support vehicles due to the severe weather conditions we had been having.
This was followed by a great performance by the Gurkha military band and an intriguing display of ceremonial knife fighting.

During registration we were each issued with a tracking tag to wear so that, not only would the organisers know where we were on the course, but friends and family could track us on the internet. It was a great feeling throughout knowing that people at home would be following our progress.

After supper we all headed off to establish Advanced Base Camp. This was in my cousin Jill and her husband Oliver’s house in Petersfield. They had very kindly offered to put us all up for the night & their house was only 10 minutes away. Far more civilized than camping at the start and it would mean that we could get a decent nights rest.

Saturday dawned with a relatively bright sky (well, a lighter shade of grey than usual) and with spirits high we all piled into the van and headed off to the start area for breakfast. Once again, the Gurkha chefs were working hard to feed everyone and we relaxed trying not to think that tomorrow’s breakfast would be a long walk away.

 



There were five start times: 6, 7, 8, 9 and 10am. Our 10am start time was a pretty relaxed affair as most of the 550 teams had left much earlier. Accompanied by the sounds of the official Gurkha bagpipe quartet and cheers from Jill, Oliver & their 2 girls along with our support team of Rachel and Pui we set off on the longest stroll in the park any of us would ever be likely to do.
10 minutes into the walk it started to rain. 11 minutes into the walk it started to rain harder. 12 minutes into the walk it started to rain even harder still. From then on it rained pretty much incessantly for the next 4 or 5 hours. At least it wasn’t cold and it would take a lot more than monsoon conditions to dampen our spirits. We kept up a good pace to the first checkpoint which was 9.6km (6 miles) away & it took us 1 hour 44 minutes. We were greeted there by Rachel & Pui who did a fantastic job of sorting out refreshments for us throughout the event. Pui was a last minute addition to the team and she did a wonderful job for which we are all grateful. A particular high point was at one check point where she was walking round the team offering “snacks”, but with her Dutch accent we all thought she said “sex”!!

After a brief stop we headed off again knowing that we only had 10.4km (6.5miles) to cover until we saw the welcome sight of our support team again. On our arrival this time, they’d really done us proud. A visit to a supermarket on the way to the checkpoint meant that, laid out in the back of the van, were 8 plates of fantastic looking lunch to be washed down with fruit smoothies. Wonderful.

Checkpoint 3 was one of the ones that was no longer accessible to vehicles so we knew we wouldn’t see Rachel & Pui for some time. So, after changing socks/footwear/clothing/applying blister plasters/stuffing pockets with snack bars (delete as individually appropriate) we set off from CP2 well prepared for the next couple of legs.

The rain still fell, although there was the occasional half an hour when it stopped and we were hopeful that the forecast of it clearing up in the afternoon would come true. Unfortunately this was not the case as it rained pretty much most of Saturday afternoon and evening. The path & the ground at the checkpoints were a mud bath. In fact a lot of the time it was like walking through a greyish brown paste with the consistency of whipped cream. At some of the checkpoints support vehicles were having to be towed in and out.

We had set ourselves a target of completing the course in 24 hours (although just to complete it at all would have been enough) and when we got to Checkpoint 5, the halfway mark at 50.1km (31miles), exactly 11 hours after setting off we were really pleased to be ahead of target. CP5 would be the last checkpoint we’d see during daylight. We arrived (via a steep muddy slope) during a brief respite in the rain with the intention of preparing ourselves with all the kit we’d need for walking throughout the night. True to form, we’d only been there 5 minutes when it started to pour hard again. And to make things even more difficult it went from being light to totally dark in the space of about 2 minutes!! Still, we had to get ready, so, with a longer than anticipated turnaround time, we donned our head torches, hi-vis vests & warmer clothing and set off again. And guess what? The rain suddenly stopped!

The path soon turned uphill again (there seemed to be a lot more walking uphill than downhill along the course!) and with spirits high due to our achievements so far and all feeling in pretty good shape (except for a few blisters throughout the team), it was soon time for a song. So Steve and I sang an old favourite of ours – Two Little Boys. I’m not sure why both of us know all the words, but we’ve been serenading our public with it since we were 17!

It’s pretty difficult singing at a level that would get us through several rounds of X-Factor when you’re walking at pace up a steep hill, in mud, late at night. But we did it and when we sang the last few meaningful words there were cheers and applause from in the darkness ahead and behind us.

Checkpoint 6 turned out to be an unfortunate one for Caroline. We arrived there soon after midnight and all of us had seemed to be coping well with the progress so far. However, an event like this, especially in the conditions we were experiencing, can have a serious effect on the human body and when we arrived at CP6 the medical tent was pretty busy. Whilst at this checkpoint Caroline fainted. The paramedic said that it was too risky for her to carry on as she might faint again somewhere out on the trail. Our support team had already gone to CP7 so we had to call them to come back and collect her. We were all sorry to see Caroline go, but the most disappointed member of the team was Caroline herself.
After our enforced stay at CP6 we covered the next 9.4km (6miles) knowing that there’d be a hot meal waiting for us at CP7, once again courtesy of the Gurkhas. We could see the checkpoint lit up from a mile away across the rolling countryside and the aroma of warm food was very welcome indeed.

Apparently there were 90 Gurkhas working throughout the event and every single one had a smile on his face and a friendly supportive word whatever the time of day or night. They really are an amazing bunch of guys.

Our departure from this CP at about 5am coincided with dawn. Having discarded our head torches, we carried on through the mud. The sky brightened through the mist and then, like an apparition, a slither of sky lit up with light. I grabbed my camera, took an atmospheric picture of cows in the mist (couldn’t find any gorillas) with the sunrise behind, put my camera away, carried on walking for 5 minutes and then had to grab my coat as it started to rain again! We didn’t see the sun again until about 9am.

Throughout the walk I’d received lots of texts and emails wishing us luck. So thank you everyone for them and apologies for not responding. Two reasons for this - 1. It was raining and I didn’t want to get my phone wet. 2. Walking and texting is pretty difficult on a muddy South Downs Way. (Lawrence tried it at one point and walked into a bush!)

Despite the weather, we had been treated to some wonderful views of the Hampshire & Sussex countryside. Some of the best of these were over the last few legs, especially as they were enhanced by the appearance of the sun. However, perhaps the best view of all was the banner stretched across the course saying “FINISH”. We had made it. We’d all faced our personal battles throughout the 26 hours and 59 minutes. Some were physical, others were mental, but we had all achieved something amazing. Plus, we’ve met new people and made new friends.

Our view of the finish line

There was a big crowd at the finish and we linked arms and covered the last few hundred metres as one. We crossed the line with cheers from the crowds and the sound of bagpipes again, our time came up on the display board, our tags were scanned and cut off our wrists and before I knew it, a personalised certificate was thrust into my hand. Apparently our medals are in the post!! And then it was all over, bar the delicious curry, once again cooked up by the Gurkhas. Oh, and not forgetting the champagne that was still chilled with the ice Jill had given us the day before.

Throughout the walk, both Lawrence & myself recorded our progress by GPS. Although we got slightly different results here’s a brief summary:

Neil’s iPhone with Runkeeper App:

Total Miles: 66.2, Average Pace: 24:27 per mile, Elevation Climbed: 7999ft, Calories Burnt: 9282

Lawrence’s Garmin Edge 800:

Total Miles: 63.4, Average Pace: 18:58 per mile, Elevation Climbed: 7322ft, Calories Burnt: 3165

The difference in pace figures is because Lawrence’s unit recorded the time we were actually walking, not the time we were stationary at checkpoints. Our walking time was actually only 20 hours 3 minutes, which for 100km in those conditions is pretty impressive.

However, the fastest time this year was by a Queens Gurkha Signals team with a time of 10 hours 54 minutes. The other pretty staggering statistic is that out of 2080 people who started the walk, only 1469 completed the course. Judging by the number of people we saw being treated in the medical tents, it was a certainly a tough trial of peoples stamina & physical ability.

We would all like to give a huge thanks to everyone who has supported us throughout our training and during the event. Your texts and emails really spurred us on and kept our spirits up. And knowing that people were watching our progress on the course via the internet was also strangely satisfying. Friends and family at home were sharing our experience (albeit we were out in the rain and mud and they weren’t!).  But our biggest thanks must go to everyone who has donated so generously to the two very worthwhile causes of Oxfam and the Gurkha Welfare Trust. Trailwalker 2012 is set to raise well over a million pounds for these charities and you all helped achieve that.

And at the end of the day, that’s what all this madness was about.

Neil, Stephen, Lawrence, Sebastian, Richard, Caroline, Joel, Christelle

plus Rachel & Pui

Teams l’entente cordial and l’entente cordial part deux

P.S. Rest assured, we will never be doing this again!!

P.P.S. All the team owe Steve a big thanks. It was his dream to do this that bought us all together for an amazing, once in a lifetime (probably) experience.

We're Tagged!

We've all checked in and been fitted with tracking devices. Going for a good nights sleep at Jill's house.

Trailwalker Live Blog

During the event you can track exactly where we are on the trail live at any time on the Trailwalker Live Blog.

Click Here To Follow Our Progress Live

Simply put one of our individual names or the team name ( l'entente cordiale or l'entente cordiale part deux ) into the relevant search boxes on the right hand side to see our progress.

Ready to Go.

The team kit's all packed, along with snacks, first aid stuff, waterproofs and lots of socks!
Heading to Petersfield tomorrow afternoon to my cousin Jills' house. She's very kindly putting us all up for the night. Her house is only 5 minutes from the start at Queen Elizabeth Country Park, so with our 10 o'clock start we can actually have a bit of a lay in.

Get Team Kit Together - Done

Aside from the essential personal items we'll all need such as socks, sunglasses (hopefully), water bottles etc, there's a fairly extensive list of essential team items the Trailwalker organisers require us to have.
I've pretty much finished getting it all ready for both teams. Just a few things to get over the next couple of days.
Neil

ONE WEEK LEFT!!

The final countdown commences until our 10am start time next Saturday. Training has to wind down now. The technical term amongst sporting types is "tapering". Just a few short walks to keep the muscles active plus lots of pasta meals. Sounds good to me!

Working on getting all the team kit together this weekend. I've compiled most of it over the last few months, but today I'll will be walking to the chemists for blister plasters, an outdoor shop for new luxury insoles for my boots & then to a supermarket for snack bars.

That's today's training walk done!

Neil

More Training in Paris

Day 1: On the banks of the river "La Marne" June 22nd 

Christelle came over a week after Stephen as their calendar were not matching. Neithertheless, as she cannot walk long distance at weekends in Barcelona, she joined to accomplish some training and get prepare for the D day.

Along the Marne

Ancre

The first walk started near the Place de la Bastille on the "promenade plantée", a path protected from the traffic and the streets letting you think in some parts that you are not in Paris. This leads us to the Bois de Vincennes that we crossed over in order to go to Joinville Le pont. During our walk in the bois, we discovered a dedicated cycling tour drawing a triangle of about 4 kms. A place I didn't know or visited when I walked previously in the bois... It really means it is quite a big forest. Cycling teams and individual cyclers are making rounds at a quite high speed. We were a little bit worried when we saw an ambulance looking for somebody. Probably one of these guys that felt over his bike.... we made ourselves a round to make sure we will have made enough kilometers in the legs at the end of the day.... Yes, we start to be addicted to treks and make sure we will be trained enough for the D day !!! :). We passed in front of the Hippodrome de Vincennes... no horse races planned that afternoon not even a training....then, we manage to reach Joinville le pont...This is the closest place near the bois the Vincennes that gives access to the river called "La Marne". It is situated east of the Paris Basin and is the longest French river (514 km) . That is one of the Main tributary of the Seine and it runs in laces.

We decided to go and walk along one of these laces, on the banks of the city: Champigny sur Marne . We are quite astonished by the beauty of the bank and we can admire the beautiful houses along the way. We have seen few boats called Péniches in French (long boat used to transport goods and more and more renovated as appartment.). Along the way, we can see that the river is used a a base for training in Kayaking. We have noticed what I will call "doors" that kayakists needs to go through when doing a competition as a skier would do in a Slalom. The Olympic Games in London starting in 3 weeks time, we will have the opportunity to watch it on tv. Even if we walk 90% of the path near the water, one thing we regretted is that a part of the Marne banks were not accessible and we had to walk on the pavement on a main road. Nevertheless, after 5 hours and 30 minutes, we were quite satisfied of our day. as we walk about 23 kms before taking a train in "La Varennes-Chennevrières" to go back to Nation .

Day 2: To the discovery of the "Canal de l'Ourcq"

The second walk had to be a long one with the objective to walk at least 9 hours... The reasons for such a challenge was that Christelle did not have a chance to cover such distance since our visit in Barcelona and the weather forecast was no good for the following day.

We had planned a walk in forests and changed our mind at the last minute but everybody was satisfied with the decision made... We decided to meet in Boulevard Voltaire and start again this second day from my place. Our first difficulty was the hilly Cimetière du Père Lachaise; probably the most visited cemetery in the world, where famous people are buried: writers such as La fontaine or Molière, Irish auther Oscar Wilde, SingerJim Morrison (the Doors) Singer Edith Piaf, Gilbert Bécaut, Opera singer Maria Callas, Musicians: Bizet and Chopin. You can also find the gravesites of movie artits such Sarah Bernhardt, Yves Montand and Simone Signoret. . It is well known as well for the sculpture and monuments that rich families made in the name of their members lost through the years.

Once we got out the cemetery we headed to the Buttes de Chaumont, the most hilly park in Paris with a lovely pond dominated by a monument located on a peak. On the summit, you have a beautiful scenery of the Northern and Eastern sides of Paris. Then, we moved to La Villette, a famous part of Paris well know for some exhibitions, concert room, organising everynight outdoor cinema for a month. We went there because it is a start of the Canal de L'Ourcq, one of the canal that constitutes the network of Parisian canals, 130 km long and which belongs to the city of Paris. Since 1962, only the first eleven kilometers, exempt from locks, are opened to the commercial traffic: approximately a million tons are transported every year by barges the heavy carrying of which cannot exceed 400 tons. Beyond, the channel, the depth of which is henceforth 80 cms, is dedicated to the sailing. Since the end of 1990s, the neighborhood of the canal situated in the Parisian urban area are rehabilitated and fitted out to make a green axis opened to the activities of leisure such as the cycle touring and the hike.

During the first kilometers, a strange feeling runs through our bodies as the place seems desolated as some old buildings ready to be destroyed. We were not very impressed as I would say by this area. Nothing special until we arrived near a long wall. There, we had the chance to admire some beautiful tags. To be honest, I do not really like tags and mainly when they are covering beautiful buildings. However, here, we were in a isolated place where artists can express their art without destroying someone else belongings.

 

An open space where some pleople making some sophiticated, well thought paintings. Some of them are very talented to draw pictures in such a way it looks like a pictures or a cartoon.

We had to walk around 8 kms to find some green land before reaching the Forest of Sevran. There, the banks were lovely, greeny, surrounded by trees. A very peaceful area where we have seen a lot of fishermen, siting along the canal and fishing quietly. Almost doing nothing, relaxing, taking the fresh air and seizing the day. Along our walk we have just came across with a lock. For the fist time, I saw a signed post indicating it was forbidden to fish. It is represented by a hook crossed by a bar. 
We covered according to Christelle GPS around 41 kms in 9 hours including stops for stretching and for eating our lunch. We were quite satisfied with this walk and the landscape we have seen on the way. However, we would advise people willing to discover the canal to start the walk as from the RER of Sevran. The part before between La Villette and that point is almost without interest unless you like tags !!!
Conclusions of the day to make sure we will overcome our challenge:
- Eat on a constent basis (cakes with fruits are excellent, fruits, some chocolate bars as rewards :=) ) to make the distance.
- For avoiding to suffer from skin rubbing on both sides of the legs which can be very paintfull, you can apply prior to the walk a gel named Nok. It is highly recommended to even start the application at least a week prior to the event.

 

Day 3: A lazy day in Paris.

As it was pouring rain in Paris, we decided to laze around, then go an see an exhibition on Helmut Newton, the famous photographer.....Kilometers covered... not a lot !!! :)

 

Sebastian

The long way home, the importance of giving, and dude where's my car?

The blog of many titles...

And none as detailed as Neil's, read that one for a proper account of events!

The long way home

Neil had decided we needed a long distance walk that took in some night walking, ideal preparation for the big day, he managed to rope me and Steve in and set the route.  The route chosen was from the Force 4 Head Office in Gloucester to Neil's house in Bristol.  Neil had approximated a distance of 31miles, but would confirm nearer the day.
A double booking on my part meant that I had to go to a wedding on the Saturday, so it was decided that it would be for the best that I try to complete about 3/4 of the route and drive home.
The day arrived, Friday 22nd, we decided to leave at 4 in the afternoon, Neil had worked out on the OS website that it would be roughly 19 miles to where I'd left my car, and him and Steve would have about an 11 mile walk after that.  We estimated I'd be at the car at about 12.00 midnight and I'd be home in time for a sleep before having to leave for the wedding at 10.00am.

Work being work, we left an hour later than planned, but with Steve now with us we were confident of making a good time.
The biggest problem about doing a walk for the first time, is that if the signs are poorly placed and indeed sparse it's very hard to keep a rythm.  Your'e forever looking around for signs and you lose confidence in the way your'e going.  The first mile was one of those, and with heavy hearts after half an hour we realised we'd made very little progress, in fact we'd pretty much rejoined the road we'd started on!  Heads down for fear of being spotted by our work colleagues we plowed on up the road, this time picking up the correct path.

The importance of giving

It was the first time I'd met fellow team mate and Neil's best friend Steve.  I was immediately struck by his passion for not just the event but for the reason we're all doing the event.  Not for personal glory or a sense of satisfaction, but raising money for an exceptional charity who in turn will actually make a difference to peoples lives.  It was a bit of an eye opener for me, and it's great to hear people talk about things with such passion.  So along with a bit more training my focus will now firmly be fixed on raising money.

Dude where's my car?

It wasn't an easy walk this one, lots of the trails were overgrown, a few were pretty muddy, and we only had a vague idea of where we were heading.  So progress wasn't perhaps as quick as it should have been.  That said there were some glorious sites along the way, the general landscapes were stunning, but I was most impressed with the ridiculously large houses.

At one point we had to knock on the door of a house, conceding defeat that we had no idea where we were  on the map.  Thankfully the game keeper managed to steer us in the right direction, and as we left him with his roaring fire and mystery blonde I feared we'd really taken a wrong turn somewhere!

Eventually we picked up the Monarchs Way, a trail that spans over 600 miles along the country, and was the escape route used by King Charles ii.  Although i've no idea how they managed to record his route, Neil suggested he'd left stickers along the way.  I must admit once we'd picked up this trail at about 9.30pm I thought it was going to be an easy walk back to the car.  Little did I know...

As my estimated times of arrival gradually grew later I feared i'd never make the wedding party, Jo would certainly kick my ass and i'd be a write off for the rest of the weekend.  Thats the odd thing about walking for so long, you go through real mental highs & lows along the route.  It's very important to stay positive, and Fruit pastilles go a long way towards that.

Walking in the dark is an experience, one that I particularly enjoyed, it focuses your mind on following the path and little else.  Neil had arranged some Silva Headlights for us to use, and I was the first to try it out, mainly because I was too excited.  The beam is excellent, clear focused and bright.  Although you do have to remember to dip it, and avoid pointing it into peoples eyes, not cool.
The other very important thing to remember is spare batteries, our head torches had dimmed dramatically after a few hours use, and fearful they may not see us through to the car we ended up swapping who used theirs and when.

My 1.00am deadline came and went, and I feared it'd be day break by the time we got back to my car, however Chipping Sodbury eventually came into view, and we knew the car could be no more than a couple of hours away once we'd got to the railway tracks the other side of Chipping Sodbury.

Once on the railway bridge Neil knew the way, having completed this walk only a few weeks previous.  It was probably just as well because the route was very dark, very muddy and very over grown!  2 hours passed, and at 4.00am I spotted the Church where my car was parked.

At 4.10am I got back to my car.  4 hours late, but back!  Now for the 1 hour 40 minute drive back to my house.  Loz