Team Aching News

...... so now I feel I should give everyone an overview of the event.

For us it started at 5am on Saturday 19th July 2008. That was the time we all had to get up so that we could make the hour long journey along a twisty road to the start line. Unfortunately, the twisty road didn't agree with Andy's stomach and he had to start Trailwalker feeling quite under the weather.

We got all the registering and kit check stuff out the way, had our electronic tags attached to our wrists and then headed for the start line. I was surprised at how calm I felt at the start. In a lot of ways it just felt like we were off for another training walk. The difference being the number of people surrounding us, the bagpipes... oh and the four of us actually being all together!

The first few miles involved a lot of overtaking, which was difficult as teams liked to spread themselves across the path. It was a lot easier to walk at our own pace once we'd found some room though. We all got into our rhythm and made the first checkpoint, 9.4km from the start, in super quick time. If we'd continued the rest of Trailwalker at that speed we'd have completed the whole thing in 15 hours!!!!

After a short refreshment we started stage 2. The sun was shining and we were all feeling good, apart from Andy who was gradually recovering from the drive to the start. I have to be honest and say I don't remember an awful lot of stage 2 and 3, apart from the nearly vertical hill we had to get up at the beginning of stage 2. I remember mum and Jenni setting up a gazebo thingy at CP3 for us to have some shade and I'm sure it was around about CP3 when Robyn's feet really started giving her difficulties but otherwise it's all a bit of a blur.

It wasn't until halfway through stage 5 that I really started to feel a bit tired. This was just before the halfway point. For some reason I started getting a shooting pain up my shin and the first blisters started apearing. We eventually made it to CP5, where we were welcomed by our wonderful support crew with special halfway cakes and some balloons!!!! A change of socks, some blister bandaging and a trip to the first aid tent sorted me out. Robyn, however, was suffering with her feet and even Steve mentioned that he'd started feeling the strain on his legs slightly during stage 5. Andy was pretty chilled- he just wanted to get going. At this point we were still on target to finish in 20 hours.

CP6 was where we decided we'd have something warm to eat. But a few things went a bit wrong here. Mum and Jenni had been to Sainsbury's to sort out some more dressings for Robyn's feet and in the rush mum had managed to leave her phone there. So she left Jenni to cook us some absolutely lovely pasta, while she went back to get her phone. It was now about 9.30pm and it was dark and turning pretty chilly. We needed the first aid stuff out the car, the high vis vests as well as more warm clothing. Mum was back at the checkpoint but an accident had happened where a walker had been knocked down by a car and she was struggling to get to us. So we ended up waiting a little while.

Stage 7 was a bit of a nightmare. Near the beginning was a massive hill. We all got up it ok, until at the top Robyn started struggling to breathe. Thankfully she stayed really calm and was fine after only a few minutes. I was also starting to get a bit worried about Andy. He was usually always the first up the hills, but he had slowed down, he looked pale and he was very quiet. Steve seemed fine (I've decided he's pretty much a machine who could handle anything!!!). We took this stage fairly slowly and eventually reached Devil's Dyke at around 1am. Walking at night was strange. I was surprised at how little any of us had talked throughout the whole event really. We were all so focussed on just getting through it all. As we were walking quite often two of us walked ahead of the other two but we always remained in sight of each other. At night we kept together as it would have been very easy to lose each other. We always arrived at checkpoints as a team of 4, as to us this was what Trailwalker was about. I couldn't understand why the Gurkha's at the checkpoints seemed surprised when we said we were all there. Then Jenni told us that she'd waited to welcome us at a checkpoint for 20 minutes and during this time she'd only seen one or two complete teams of four. Many people had dropped out and other teams had split up.

At Devil's Dyke Andy admitted that he was feeling pretty terrible. He was very cold and he felt sick. He also hadn't been eating much because he wasn't feeling well so his energy reserves were getting very low. We bundled him up in jumpers and sat him in the car. So far we'd managed not to lose anyone, but it was looking less likely that we'd all be able to complete the event. I was still amazed that Robyn was still walking- I couldn't bare to look at her feet they were so bad- she was doing an incredible job of keeping going!

After a bit of a rest Andy was feeling better. He was still seriously lacking in energy though. Thankfully the stretch to checkpoint 8 was a short 6km stretch so we kitted him out with some walking poles to help him along the way and we all set off together. We took this stage incredibly slowly. It's the only stage where I remember being overtaken by loads of people. But I'd rather have done it slowly and got everyone to the end. We reached CP8 after 2 hours of walking. This time we all bundled into the car with some hot drinks. It was absolutely freezing at night. We were all fine while we were walking but as soon as we stopped we quickly got cold. By this time it was about 4am and the sun was starting to rise. Andy was still feeling quite dodgy but he wasn't about to drop out.

During the night I received so many texts of encouragement from my friends. They wouldn't have known at the time that they just happened to be sending them when we needed them most but they were brilliant. With everything that happened overnight, we needed to know people were thinking of us, and all the encouragement we got helped so much. Thank-you all very much for your support!!!!!!!! It's certainly something I shall never ever forget.

Stage 9 was probably the hardest for me. It was a long 12km stretch and I was shattered and hungry. For most of the stage I felt pretty ill. All I wanted to do was lie down and go to sleep. Things started to improve as the sun came up. Andy all of a sudden improved dramatically and was back to leaping ahead of the rest of us again! It was all getting a bit too much for me and I phoned the support crew for some encouragement.

I think now would be a very good time to try and put across how amazing our support crew were. At every CP they had chairs, food, hot drinks, blankets, first aid... basically everything we needed was there and waiting for us. We sat down and they ran around getting anything and everything we needed. There is absolutely no way I could ever have done something like Trailwalker without them. Not only did they support us at CP's but when things were getting tough during the stages they sent us encouraging text messages or called us to make sure things were going ok. I think they are the only other people who can truly appreciate how hard this was for us as they definitely saw us at our worst!

Mum walked towards us from CP 9 to help us out, or help me out as I was still struggling a lot. I think I can safely say I nearly died when I saw the hill I had to get up to the CP! Halfway up I panicked a bit and started not being able to breathe properly but Mum was there to calm me down and help me the rest of the way up.

The support crew had sorted some lovely Pain au Chocolat and fruit for breakfast. It was then that I realised that the reason I'd been feeling ill was lack of food. It was such a lovely breakfast. Mum and Jenni told me afterwards that they'd realised none of us had really eaten enough during the night and if we hadn't eaten voluntarily they were going to force breakfast down our throats!!! Thankfully there was no need for that- but we were so tired by this point that we were probably unable to realise that we hadn't eaten enough so it was good to know they were watching out for us.

That was the last CP where we had a support crew. CP 10 was inaccessible to cars so the next time we'd see them would be at the finish line. So, we stocked up on food and anything else we might need and headed off towards CP 10.

We were all suffering now. The worst part was getting up again after being sat for a while. Our legs just siezed up and it took a good 5-10 minutes for them to loosen off. My knee was really starting to hurt and the last 10km to the finish line was very slow because of it. There were also some pretty horrible hills in the last couple of stretches. The two guys were brilliant over the last couple of stages. They made sure that one of them stayed with Robyn and me throughout, realising that we were both struggling. By this point though, the end was most definitely in sight, all we had to do was get there. I have a feeling we were all suffering from bruised feet at this point as well. Everytime I put my foot down on a rock it hurt like crazy. I knew Robyn was feeling the same pain. It's a really difficult pain to ignore because it's not one I've ever really had before. Blisters I can ignore but this just ached.

Anyways, enough whinging. We finally reached the racecourse and lined up together for the 500m walk to the finish line. Wow, it was amazing. I had no idea whether I was going to laugh, cry or collapse at the end. I think it ended up being too overwhelming and I just ended up dazed. Our support crew along with Steve's parents were waiting at the finish line, there were more bagpipes playing and messages being read out over a loud speaker. We passed through the finish line, hugged everyone and then stood on the podium to get our medals. This was followed by a trip to the food hall where we got the most delicious curry ever.

502 teams started Trailwalker, 495 finished with at least one member still walking, 287 complete teams finish, and 83% of individuals cross the finish line!

That means that we were one of the 287 teams that finished as a complete team. We even got noticed by the Gurkha's as a team that stuck together and reached every checkpoint as a team (someone heard one of them speaking about it at the finish). Not bad considering the furtherst the four of us had walked together before this had been about 3 miles!

I'm so proud of all of us. We stuck together and got each other through. We all had stages where things weren't going our way and we were a bit slow but we did it in 26.5 hours and that's all that matters. During one of the last stages I said to Steve I'd never do it again, he said wait a few hours and then see how you feel... well I think I probably would do it again. Not next year but some time in the future. We've now got a time of 26.5 hours that needs to be beaten and a sponsorship total of around £1700 that could also be improved on!!!

I would recommend Trailwalker to anyone who wants a physical and mental challenge. But be prepared to train hard for it. This was the toughest thing I've ever done, and a lot of what got me through was determination and having the right mindset to face anything and everything.

The final thing I have to say is thank-you to everyone who's sponsored us, supported us and encouraged us along the way. We couldn't have done it without you!