Team bio

Welcome to our Team Blog.

We must be mad as the Trailwalker challenge means that we walk 100km across the South Downs in less than 30 hours! In fact, the route’s distance and elevation is equivalent to two and a half marathons and climbing both Ben Nevis and Snowdon! The event was originally started by the Queens Gurkha Signals Regiment over 30 years ago as a training exercise to test soldiers’ stamina and teamwork skills. Is it tough? Of course. Is it worth it? Absolutely.

As well as ending up with aching limbs, we'll also end up raising loads of money for both Oxfam and The Gurkha Welfare Trust.

Anyway, we hope you like our blog and will keep following our progress here as the event gets closer. Plus, most importantly, we'd love it if you could donate to our cause. So, please click on the Virgin Money Giving link below.

Bonjour à tous et merci de votre visite sur notre site de collecte de fond pour Oxfam.

Nous sommes deux équipes de 4 personnes et nous avons fondé l’entente cordiale afin de relever un véritable challenge: parcourir à pieds 100 km en une seule traite, en moins de 30 heures soit l’équivalent deux marathons et un semi-marathon !!!
Nous allons relier Petersfield à Brighton dans le sud-est de l’Angleterre. Cette marche qui existe depuis 30 ans a été initiée par le régiment de Gurkhas (des Népalais résistants pouvant parcourir des dizaines de kilomètres) et servait d’entraînement physique tout en testant l’esprit d’équipe. A notre tour, de vivre cette aventure. Cliquez ici pour en savoir plus >>>

Saturday, 24 March 2012

Todays Walk

A beautiful sunny day dawned and I set off from home to walk to Bath. I had decided to take the very scenic, cross country route to get there. This proved to be a pretty tough test of my map reading and navigation skills (thankfully I only had to resort to the navigation app on my phone once!).

At one point I thought I had taken a major detour as I found myself surrounded by Alpacas!

The route turned out to be far hillier than I had expected with some pretty steep hills to climb. However, the views were fantastic. At one point I could look south east across the famous Georgian city of Bath and west across to Bristol and beyond to the hills of South Wales.

As I finally came into Bath I had to walk past the Royal Crescent and through the Circus. Two of the worlds best examples of Georgian architecture.

I only walked 15.55 miles (25.02km) but it seemed much longer due to the hills!! Plus I got blisters on the inside of each of my big toes. Something I'll have to address before Steve and I walk together at Easter.

One other issue I had was perspiration mixed with sun cream running into my eyes! Ouch! Any suggestions to solve this would be most welcome.

Here are the stats from my walk, courtesy of the RunKeeper App:

Looking forward next to a long walk in the Kent countryside in a couple of weeks time which should be much flatter!

Neil

Wednesday, 21 March 2012

New records and pining for new kit

So just a quick blog entry this time, just to say I've smashed my quickest mile time! A sub 8 minute mile, very chuffed. A little worried i'm too focused on speed and not distance though! So off on a 10+ mile run this weekend. Great effort from Steve on his walk.

Also pining for the following kit!

Garmin Forerunner 310xt

Nike FuelBand

Also Neil tells me Steve has left the dark ages and has a mobile phone that not only houses an internal battery but has a GPS built in as well! Good work.

Loz

Saturday, 17 March 2012

Pretty good week training and fundraising, Rachel's family have been more than generous with donations and yesterday I did a solo training walk, 33 kilometres from Canterbury to Westgate on Sea, via Whitstable. My aim was a third of what we'll be doing in July and I just about got there, took me 6 hours and 18 minutes,with two very brief stops. Very pleased.

Monday, 12 March 2012

This week I have mainly been at work...

OK so not a bad effort but certainly not a good effort last week. In total I did 3 mid-week runs, which were a combined distance of 12.43 miles. I also went for a xc mountain bike ride on Sunday morning, clocking up roughly 12 miles again. Also weekend walks but I don't count those unless i'm in full training gear!

However the sun is out here in Hamble and the evenings are definitely getting lighter, so i'm going to extend my mid week running route in distance as it's getting tough to fit in more than 3 mid week runs. So aiming for 15 miles in mid week runs this week.

How's everybody else progressing?

I've also booked up a mountain biking trip at the end of March to Wales, which i'm classing as training and not a Holiday!

Loz

Tuesday, 6 March 2012

Personal Record achieved!

So I got a Personal record from RunKeeper last week, I managed 20 miles in mid week runs! Very pleased, just need to keep it up.

Great to see the first lot of donations coming in, great effort by the Dolphin pub and Steve.

I'm determined to train extra hard this week as a result. My target this week is to run a minimum of 20 miles again. Plus a bike ride on Saturday. My legs are definitely getting stronger and my times over 5 miles are dropping as well.

I should probably review the training log on the Trailwalker website as well to make sure i'm doing the right things... Click here for the training guide.

Loz

Hey all,we're off and running!! Thanks to the help of Peter, landlord of the excellent Dolphin pub in Canterbury, and his staff and customers we've raised £112 for the cause. Congratulations to June on winning the £50. All those £2 entries really add up everyone and thanks also for the words of encouragement, strangely 100 kilometres seems less of a big deal the closer we get to July rather than more.

Early Morning Gym Shocker!!

Up early this morning. It's my 2nd wedding anniversary today (Angela got me a shirt - 2nd anniversary is Cotton!). In the gym by 6.15, watched a beautiful sunrise over the hills whilst working out. Everything was rosy with the world and then....
The showers were breathtakingly, shockingly, icily cold! Harsh.
"The engineer is on his way" said the apologetic notice I saw on the way out.
Still, I feel like I took one for the team this morning and proved my commitment to the cause.

Neil

Thursday, 1 March 2012

Another circumnavigation of South Bristol

Steve and Rachel stayed at my place last weekend. It was great to see them again.
On Saturday morning Steve and I set off on the same walk along the hills around the south of Bristol that Lawrence and I did a few weeks earlier.

We completed just over 12 miles in 3.5 hours which we thought was pretty good going. Lawrence and I took about an hour longer for the same route, but we did get lost and ended up walking 15 miles!

We had some great views over Bristol and finished at the famous Clifton Suspension Bridge.

Our next planned walk together will be at Easter. This time a much longer one in East Kent which I'm looking forward to.

Neil

P.S This is my first ever blog!!!

Who Are We?

We are a bunch of English and French who have come together to test ourselves with this challenge and raise lots of money for the 2 charities.
Nous sommes un groupe de français et en anglais qui se sont réunis pour se tester à ce défi et faire beaucoup d'argent pour les 2 organismes de bienfaisance.

Although we have two teams (for registration purposes with the Trailwalker organisers), both teams are going to walk as one - hence our very apt team names.
Bien que nous avons deux équipes (à des fins d'enregistrement avec les organisateurs Trailwalker), les deux équipes vont se promener comme un - donc nos noms d'équipe très aptes.

The two teams each have 4 members and a support driver.
Les deux équipes ont chacune 4 membres et d'un chauffeur de soutien.

Team 1 (1 ere équipe) = l'entente cordiale are Stephen Edwards, Neil Paramor, Sebastian Vivier & Lawrence Parr.

Team 2 (2 ieme équipe) = l'entente cordiale part deux are Christelle Gianone, Joel Provenchere, Caroline Dardoize & Richard Spillett.

Rachel Van Hoven (she's Dutch!) is currently our valued support driver for both teams.
Rachel Van Hoven (elle est hollandaise!) est actuellement notre chauffeur précieux soutien pour les deux équipes.

Team Bio

Team 1

		Neil Paramor


Hi, I'm Neil & I live in Bristol with my wife Angela & daughter Charlotte. I grew up in Ramsgate & met Steve when I was 16 (we both worked in Tesco), which means I have known him for 24 years. Yes, this year is a big year for both of us as we turn 40! I'm not really sure when Steve first mentioned taking part in Trailwalker to me & I'm sure my brain has blanked out me accepting the invitation as I have no recollection of the moment of madness when I actually said yes. Anyway I'm now training for it, as several years of comfortable living has taken its toll! I'm looking forward to the event with a certain nervous trepidation but I know the camaraderie in the team & the money we're raising will make the pain well worth it. If you want some boring info about me, here it is: I run a company that sells equipment for boats, I enjoy growing my own fruit & veg on my allotment (plus I’ve got 8 chickens!), my favourite sports are sailing & rugby, my favourite film is The Life of Brian & I enjoy a good beer!

		Stephen Edwards


I've been looking at completing the challenge that is Trailwalker for a few years now & I think turning 40 in June & the inevitable midlife crisis was the impetus to finally get involved. I'm a travel consultant with Trailfinders (no relation to Trailwalker) & live in the village of Chartham, just outside Canterbury in Kent. I share my space with my girlfriend Rachel who happens to also be our support driver. My other connections within our group go back a few years. Neil is my oldest friend and has suffered through 23 years of my company (dammit, Joel & Seb beat us). Seb & I met on the banks of the Kaligandaki river in Nepal on a rafting trip & have shared several adventures since. Richard & I worked together as English teachers to foreign students in Canterbury & have remained good friends. During our epic walk I'm looking forward to several hours discussion on our mutual interests, gardening & gastronomy with Neil, travel with Seb & literature & the meaning of life with Richard. I'm yet to meet the rest of the team but am looking forward to walks in France, London & the West Country soon & getting to know them all just as well. My daughter Jessica thinks we're all slightly unhinged undertaking this trial of a trail but I think it's going to be amazing; friendship, the walk of a lifetime, helping two great causes & a sunrise over the south coast to help us over the finish line are not to be missed.

		Sebastian Vivier


42 years old, I am living in Paris & working for a French Credit Inusrance Company named Coface as a Control Management Expert in charge of the Group Commercial reporting. It sounds like “ no fun”… fortunately, I have a background in Sales, Marketing and Customer Relationship Management… Is it better???. I am a sporty person practising various sports on a weekly basis such as golf (competitions), jogging & swimming. I am about to be certified as first level instructor in Scuba Diving with the French Diving Association CMAS while I have already my N3, allowing me to dive down to 60m in total autonomy with a buddy. I came across Stephen 9 years ago while I was travelling around the world a year off. Both met in Nepal in April 2003 as we were rafting a wild river… not really, a little bit shaky!!! Then, we decided to join for walking half of the Anapurna tour from Pokara to Jomson. Few years later, in 2008, we decided to visit Cuba together…. We are sharing revolutionary ideas/points of view!!! We intend to meet each other once in a while to keep on reinforcing our solid friendship despite distance & cultural bounderies. Actually, we are not that much different or am I converting myself into an english native person...!!! The idea of participating in the Trailwalkers event was introduced by Stephen in Oct 2011 while visiting him in Canterburry & straight away, I replied: “ let’s do it” without really knowing what it was all about!!! Regarding the other people, Christelle & I shared the High school benches in the late eighties before loosing each other from sight for many years. Our paths crossed again via a French social network 4 years ago. Even if we do not see each other much we had sporty holidays in the French Carribean Islands: Guadeloupe (2011) & Martinique (2012) & since we plan to challenge ourselves on a yearly basis in participating to similar events as Trailwalkers. Joel & I have been sharing a 24year ongoing friendship through time & always been around. Joel was at start a schoolmate and we, Christelle, Joel & I were in the same class for a year. We have been sharing many events together and trekked in the past in our beautiful volcanic region named Massif central or Auvergne. Caroline is the last team member I met not so long ago (4 years) through work. We were colleagues in the same company Coface… Until, she betrayed us moving to the competition!!! But no hard feelings between us as she accepted to join the team. We do not know each other as well as the others but we have already shared good moments & offering her to join the team was quite an easy decision on my side as she likes walking.

		Lawrence Parr


I'm Loz and I live in Whiteley, Hampshire. I'm not as old as the others and as such feel reasonably confident I will finish the event in one piece, and walking. I'm mad on cycling and will often spend my weekends on 2 wheels either in full lycra on the road or baggy shorts falling off the side of a large hill in Wales. I'm also getting in to running thanks to the efforts of my girlfriend whipping me into some sort of reasonable shape. Either way I love being outdoors, and I'm looking forward to the challenge of the Trailwalker. Star sign: Cancer

Team 2


		Caroline Dardoize


I guess I am the youngest member of the team with my 34 years and it appears as well I am the second and the last woman of the group. I need to thank Christelle for my integration into "l'entente cordiale". Indeed, as she did not want to be the only girl in this crazy adventure, her best friend Seb looked for somebody who do not think too much and would take a chance. He teased me and I was trapped !!! I agreed after some glasses of wine to join this challenging walk and then begins the story.... Despite the physical pain it may cause and the challenge to collect money, I bet we will reach our goal :-)) How much would you bet? Combien pariez-vous? Si c'est le sens que tu voulais donner. oui c'est tout à fait ça


		Joel Provenchere


I am just 40 this year (since February), married, with two little children (3,5 and 5,5 years old). I know Sebastien for years (24 exactly !) and he's a very close friend of mine. He proposed to me the 2012 trailwalkers event, and I said, "yes, why not?". I am used to do walkings on trails in our volcanic Region of Auvergne in the centre of France but also, I really enjoy walks in the French Alps. I used to be very sporty (Paris Marathon for example in 2005) but this two last year, I made little sports because of an accident that keeps me away from sport. But now, I feel ready for a come back ! I am very pleased to do that with Sebastien English friends and with "atomic" Christelle, that i know for years also (at the same time as Sebastien) but we didn't get in touch for many years. It's funny to see how people can match again. I hope we'll meet soon with caroline. Otherwise, we'll have 30 hours to share our lives by the 14 and 15 of July ! :-)


		Christelle Gianone


My name is christelle. I am married & I have two children, Mateo 5-year-old & Laïa 4 year old. I have been living for almost 10 years in Spain. Tapas, sangria & the sun charmed me. I spent my teenage in Auvergne (center of France), my student's life in Toulouse & a part of my professional life between Carcassonne & Paris. I am working at present in the suburbs of Barcelona for a telecom company as a frontdesk manager. I have been enrolled by Sébastien, in this fabulous human challenge & I am grateful to him for offering me such opportunity to over pass me. From a sportive point of view, I maybe not as fit as the others & I did not fall in the magic potion as Obelix !!!.... However, I have a sporty spirit, I am punchy & perseverant. Therefore, I will go up to the end, for the NGO, for the people who believes in me & support me & by solidarity for my team mates. Where there is a will, there is a way. My motivation & my optimisum will make this experience come true. See you on the starting line !!!


		Richard Spillett


I am Richard Spillett. I am from Canterbury in Kent but am currently living in London and working as a freelance journalist, based mainly at the High Court. Before that I worked on the Isle of Thanet Gazette local paper in Margate. After finishing my studies in Edinburgh, I lived in Russia, where I met my lovely wife Dina, with whom I now have a superstar little daughter, Sasha, who is six months old. My physical exertions have so far been mainly limited to football and tennis, but I have got into walking since reading Will Self’s “psychogeography” essays, and am busy “orienting” myself on the streets of south London. Trailwalker poses a huge challenge to me as I’ve never gone in for marathons or other charity events before. But I am looking forward to it. It will make a nice change to walk unencumbered by a buggy or Baby-Bjorn.

Support Team


		Rachel Van Hoven


I'm Rachel, I live in Chartham near Canterbury with my boyfriend Stephen, the mastermind of this madness. After leaving the Netherlands I spent a few years in drizzly Dublin & moved to the UK in 2008. I am very happy here in Kent & intend to stick around. I work for a local homelessness charity where I am the Community Fundraiser. It's a fun job & it's great to work for something I believe in. I do not like to exercise, only cycle because it comes with the nationality, & rarely walk beyond 3 hours so, the role of support driver is perfect for me. Very happy to be involved & definitely don't envy the guys who actually have to do it. Looking forward to July! ..