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.