They think it's all over....it is now!
I can hardly believe that we started training for the Trailtrekker 6 months ago, and that it is now more than 24 hours behind us!
We started at 8am, and set off on our walk along the 100k route. With few climbs, Skipton to Malham was relatively easy going, having done that part of the route a few times over the previous months. Having said that, checkpoint 1 in Malham was a welcome sight, as were the girls with the fresh supplies of biscuits and isotonic drinks.
Stage two, over towards Horton-in-Ribblesdale was a lot harder, with a lot more climbing involved. With the sun at it's highest throughout this section of the walk, making sure we were hydrated was another added challenge. Starting with the climb up the steep steps at Malham Cove, the trail then took us to Fountains Fell, which was a long uphill battle in the heat.
With a waterstop at the bottom of Fountains Fell, Pen-Y-Ghent was a terrific climb - the first time we had actually got to the top in glorious sunny weather. This was the first point at which my legs started to ache when going downhill, and ironically enough, the same time that my hiking poles collapsed on me. Helpful!
The girls were delayed into the checkpoint in Horton, meaning that we could have a slightly longer rest. Although this added time onto our already tight schedule, I don't think anybody was too concerned.
Stage three took us round to Buckden, where it started dropping dark. This section was relatively flat, after an initial climb out of Horton, took us through a large forest and two waterstops. I have to say that the gent from St Johns Ambulance was extremely good company, even though it was a bit strange telling a complete stranger how regularly I was taking a leak.
Checkpoint 3 at Buckden was where the hot meal was, so the anticipation of this was growing with every step. With the tents in our sights, it was disheartening to see the path tail off in the opposite direction. The beef stew was worth the wait, but at this point I would have actually eaten my own foot (had it not been covered in blisters). It was at this checkpoint that my parents and Katie's dad took over support crew duties.
Setting off from Buckden was hard - it was dark, getting cold and I was getting extremely tired of getting comfy in a deck chair and then having to get up and walk for a further 3-4 hours. This next path was quite flat up to Kettlewell. At this point, I could really feel the blisters on my feet, despite having Compeed plasters completely covering me. My leg hadn't been hurting due to the lack of varying terrain - this was soon to change.
After a brief stop in Kettlewell, (where a lovely holiday maker offered us apple pie and cream), we had a steep climb and then subsequently steep descent into Conistone for checkpoint 4. The climb up the hillside seemed suprisingly easier in the dark. However, on the descent, my right leg seemed to give way and every single step sent shooting pains up and down my leg, behind my knee.
The downhill arrival into checkpoint 4 seemed to take hours. The girls met us at the entrance and then proceeded to pamper us as much as possible for the next half hour or so. My feet were now in tatters, my trusty boots that had, up to this point, caused me very little pain throughout training were beginning to fail me. After wrapping my feet in more padding and Compeed plasters, it was time to stretch out and set off again, despite my body telling me to stay still and sleep.
By this point I had been awake for 22 hours and walking for 19.
The climb out of Conistone was terrible, my feet, legs, hips and shoulders were now aching. We were now heading towards taking brief stops every hour or so. Although these extra stops slowed us down dramatically, if we were to have gone without them I think we would have all had a lot more trouble in crossing the finish line.
The sun was starting to rise as we climbed out of Conistone, and if I wasn't purely trying to battle through the pain, and focus on making the next waterstop, I would have savoured the scenery a lot more. The birds were singing and it was turning out to be a gloriously sunny day. Out came the pasty white legs, and on went some suncream.
More and more people seemed to be passing us by this time, but after speaking to some, we were suprised to hear that most of them set off an hour earlier than us! Meaning up to that point, we had made an hour on top of their times. An achievement that in itself gave me a warm fuzzy feeling - until I stood up and put pressure onto my blisters again.
On the approach to Hetton for the final waterstop, we were all flagging. There were people walking the other way telling us that the waterstop was close, but it seemed to be never ending road, and the stones on the path were piercing at the blisters on my feet with every single individual heavy footstep.
A relaxing 15 minute stop at Hetton, and we were off for the final leg of the trek. The aim now being to finish in under 28 hours, meant we could give ourselves 3hours and 30 minutes to finish.
The fields coming out of Hetton were at a sidewards angle, meaning that my feet were slipping sidewards in my boots, causing my blisters to slide with every step. It also meant that I was putting most of my weight onto my right leg, which was bent at an odd angle - this was excrutiating and felt like someone was poking into the side of my kneecap with a red hot skewer.
At this point, I feel I need to ask a question - does anyone know how far 2 miles actually is? I mean really? This may seem like an odd question, however, for the last hour of the walk we were continuously told that we only had two miles to go. Not once, not twice, not even three times, but four times we got told we only had two miles left.
As Chris correctly pointed out, 2 miles at 8am on Saturday morning wasn't really anything to shout about. But when every step hurts, and we were so close to the finish line, 2 miles was a big deal.
With the final two miles taking well over an hour, we were all close to tears. And then, out of nowhere we were suddenly hearing our names being read out over a tannoy, and then the clapping and cheering of hundreds of people!!!
What a feeling walking over the finish line. The official finish time of 28 hours and 4 minutes. It was so emotional I shed a few tears when I hugged Katie after receiving my medal and certificate.
Our bodies had been stretched to breaking point, our emotions were shredded and our ability to string together a simple sentence had long since failed us. Yet, as we all crossed the finish line, the only thing that mattered was that we had all completed what was by far the hardest thing we had ever set out to do.
My thanks to the support crew: Katie, Natalie, my parents, Katie's dad, and Natalie's parents for meeting us at the various checkpoints, and helping us throughout. And my thanks to the people who turned up to the finish line to cheer us in and everyone who sponsored us.
Also my thanks to all of the Oxfam volunteers and support staff that did a fantastic job of ensuring the event ran as smoothly as possible.
Most of all, my thanks and upmost lifelong respect to Ant, Dave and Chris for making this one of the most unforgettable 28 hours and 4 minutes of my life.
With that note, I'll signoff. Until next year.....???
We started at 8am, and set off on our walk along the 100k route. With few climbs, Skipton to Malham was relatively easy going, having done that part of the route a few times over the previous months. Having said that, checkpoint 1 in Malham was a welcome sight, as were the girls with the fresh supplies of biscuits and isotonic drinks.
Stage two, over towards Horton-in-Ribblesdale was a lot harder, with a lot more climbing involved. With the sun at it's highest throughout this section of the walk, making sure we were hydrated was another added challenge. Starting with the climb up the steep steps at Malham Cove, the trail then took us to Fountains Fell, which was a long uphill battle in the heat.
With a waterstop at the bottom of Fountains Fell, Pen-Y-Ghent was a terrific climb - the first time we had actually got to the top in glorious sunny weather. This was the first point at which my legs started to ache when going downhill, and ironically enough, the same time that my hiking poles collapsed on me. Helpful!
The girls were delayed into the checkpoint in Horton, meaning that we could have a slightly longer rest. Although this added time onto our already tight schedule, I don't think anybody was too concerned.
Stage three took us round to Buckden, where it started dropping dark. This section was relatively flat, after an initial climb out of Horton, took us through a large forest and two waterstops. I have to say that the gent from St Johns Ambulance was extremely good company, even though it was a bit strange telling a complete stranger how regularly I was taking a leak.
Checkpoint 3 at Buckden was where the hot meal was, so the anticipation of this was growing with every step. With the tents in our sights, it was disheartening to see the path tail off in the opposite direction. The beef stew was worth the wait, but at this point I would have actually eaten my own foot (had it not been covered in blisters). It was at this checkpoint that my parents and Katie's dad took over support crew duties.
Setting off from Buckden was hard - it was dark, getting cold and I was getting extremely tired of getting comfy in a deck chair and then having to get up and walk for a further 3-4 hours. This next path was quite flat up to Kettlewell. At this point, I could really feel the blisters on my feet, despite having Compeed plasters completely covering me. My leg hadn't been hurting due to the lack of varying terrain - this was soon to change.
After a brief stop in Kettlewell, (where a lovely holiday maker offered us apple pie and cream), we had a steep climb and then subsequently steep descent into Conistone for checkpoint 4. The climb up the hillside seemed suprisingly easier in the dark. However, on the descent, my right leg seemed to give way and every single step sent shooting pains up and down my leg, behind my knee.
The downhill arrival into checkpoint 4 seemed to take hours. The girls met us at the entrance and then proceeded to pamper us as much as possible for the next half hour or so. My feet were now in tatters, my trusty boots that had, up to this point, caused me very little pain throughout training were beginning to fail me. After wrapping my feet in more padding and Compeed plasters, it was time to stretch out and set off again, despite my body telling me to stay still and sleep.
By this point I had been awake for 22 hours and walking for 19.
The climb out of Conistone was terrible, my feet, legs, hips and shoulders were now aching. We were now heading towards taking brief stops every hour or so. Although these extra stops slowed us down dramatically, if we were to have gone without them I think we would have all had a lot more trouble in crossing the finish line.
The sun was starting to rise as we climbed out of Conistone, and if I wasn't purely trying to battle through the pain, and focus on making the next waterstop, I would have savoured the scenery a lot more. The birds were singing and it was turning out to be a gloriously sunny day. Out came the pasty white legs, and on went some suncream.
More and more people seemed to be passing us by this time, but after speaking to some, we were suprised to hear that most of them set off an hour earlier than us! Meaning up to that point, we had made an hour on top of their times. An achievement that in itself gave me a warm fuzzy feeling - until I stood up and put pressure onto my blisters again.
On the approach to Hetton for the final waterstop, we were all flagging. There were people walking the other way telling us that the waterstop was close, but it seemed to be never ending road, and the stones on the path were piercing at the blisters on my feet with every single individual heavy footstep.
A relaxing 15 minute stop at Hetton, and we were off for the final leg of the trek. The aim now being to finish in under 28 hours, meant we could give ourselves 3hours and 30 minutes to finish.
The fields coming out of Hetton were at a sidewards angle, meaning that my feet were slipping sidewards in my boots, causing my blisters to slide with every step. It also meant that I was putting most of my weight onto my right leg, which was bent at an odd angle - this was excrutiating and felt like someone was poking into the side of my kneecap with a red hot skewer.
At this point, I feel I need to ask a question - does anyone know how far 2 miles actually is? I mean really? This may seem like an odd question, however, for the last hour of the walk we were continuously told that we only had two miles to go. Not once, not twice, not even three times, but four times we got told we only had two miles left.
As Chris correctly pointed out, 2 miles at 8am on Saturday morning wasn't really anything to shout about. But when every step hurts, and we were so close to the finish line, 2 miles was a big deal.
With the final two miles taking well over an hour, we were all close to tears. And then, out of nowhere we were suddenly hearing our names being read out over a tannoy, and then the clapping and cheering of hundreds of people!!!
What a feeling walking over the finish line. The official finish time of 28 hours and 4 minutes. It was so emotional I shed a few tears when I hugged Katie after receiving my medal and certificate.
Our bodies had been stretched to breaking point, our emotions were shredded and our ability to string together a simple sentence had long since failed us. Yet, as we all crossed the finish line, the only thing that mattered was that we had all completed what was by far the hardest thing we had ever set out to do.
My thanks to the support crew: Katie, Natalie, my parents, Katie's dad, and Natalie's parents for meeting us at the various checkpoints, and helping us throughout. And my thanks to the people who turned up to the finish line to cheer us in and everyone who sponsored us.
Also my thanks to all of the Oxfam volunteers and support staff that did a fantastic job of ensuring the event ran as smoothly as possible.
Most of all, my thanks and upmost lifelong respect to Ant, Dave and Chris for making this one of the most unforgettable 28 hours and 4 minutes of my life.
With that note, I'll signoff. Until next year.....???
posted by Unknown at 1:04 PM
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