Trailwalker 2007

In 2002 a seed was sown. Numerous people I knew decided that rather than just do marathons, they’d try and walk 100 kilometres across the south downs of England to raise money for charity. I was asked if I’d do it. My response was less than polite! Anyway – rather than be subject to continuous pressure to participate, I hatched a cunning plan – I decided to agree to support a team. Basically this involves following the group of four walkers along the route, meeting them at various checkpoints (CPs) along the route, and providing them with food, drink, and a psychological slap round the head with a wet kipper, or whatever we felt it needed. Oh – and best of all, no walking. It was a genius plan to avoid being arm-twisted into walking. Because I don't walk. Ever. Okay??

Anyway – for one reason or another, which has been lost in the mists of time, I didn’t support them in their endeavours the following year, although Heather (Josie Jump on the RW forums) did. We had several teams, and due to appalling weather conditions, only one team finished – leaving Vrap, Evil Pixie, Helen Wheels, Slowboy, Running Duck and a few others having been beaten by TW.

In 2004 Vrap and Helen got revenge, with Heather and I crewing. I was hooked! For some reason staying up through the night and hugging sweaty people in a field gave me a massive buzz. I did wonder whether this was some form of weird ultramarathon rave or something, and kept expecting the gurkhas (who run the event) to offer me an E. Anyway – I was back the next year, with Josie and another successful team, including HeebieJeebie, and another great time – this time even faster. I loved it again, but it is ultimately fairly stressful in terms of leaving you knocked flat for a few days due to lack of sleep. I had resolved not to do it in 2006, but Pixie had decided she wanted to “slay the dragon” as she put it of her aborted attempt in 2003, so she needed a support crew. Pix is a good mate so there was no way I was going to not do it and while the other guys are great peeps, I had to be there for Pix, plus I think you do gain a lot of experience which the others didn't have.

This time RobW and Fraggle joined me, and we got her, El Bee, Vrap and Running Duck through the finish in just over 25 hours. That was it – while the buzz from the day was great, I was retiring from TW support.

Or so I thought! The walkers had been talking about how sections could be run, and they reckoned a fifteen hour time was possible. This led to looking at the results for 2006, and seeing that a fifteen hour time would have won the mixed team prize. So – a challenge was there, and that’s guaranteed to get me wanting to have a go. In the post-TW haze of TW06, in Rob’s back garden, we decided to have a shot for a sub-15 time.

So – Rob and I would do support, joined by Josie Jump. Heebs was to join the walkers, and Slowboy was going to have a crack to get revenge for 2003. They trained their socks off. Support, meanwhile, were less energetic, and due to exams and stuff I didn’t play as active a role as usual in helping plan it, but I knew the others would know what to do and we were well prepared.

Anyway – at a pre-arranged date in a field in Sussex, we came together on July 13th (Friday). We sat around chatting the usual small talk and daft jokes that permeate these sort of occasions, and fed our faces on pasta and Italian bread with olive oil and balsamic vinegar. Supporters have to carb load too! I also received updates from Jogblog re what was going on on Big Brother, for which I’m very grateful J. People kept asking who was texting me – well – it was Cathy!

Then an early night. I was sharing with Josie, which as she described was her annual “night spent sleeping with another man”. This rather unnerved me the first time she said it, as although Josie (Heather) is a fab person, she’s married and I have no intention of getting into that sort of thing! Anyway - we were only sharing a tent, and she let me get into the tent and stripped down and into my sleeping bag first. She did however ask “Are you alright in there, there seems to be a lot of huffing and puffing?”, which of course echoed round the campsite. Various other phrases permeated the humid night air, such as “crikey – it’s very sticky tonight” (the air), and “I’m really looking forward to getting it erect” (the gazebo Josie had brought with her). Every time we unwittingly said a double entendre, we burst into fits of laughter, particularly because half the campsite probably heard the comments!

Anyway – morning came earlier than usual (4:30) and I stuck my head out of the tent to see Leon (El Bee) doing the same in his neighbouring tent, resembling a tortoise. We were quickly up and set about preparing brekkie for the walkers, which was porridge. Before we knew it, 6am (the start) was approaching and we dispatched them to the start and began getting kit into the two cars. We normally use one car but with no time to dump camping gear at Rob’s nearby house, we needed two, and since both Rob and Heather have driven the route before, I was less concerned than at the idea last year when neither driver knew the route.

6am, and they all set off, with our team, “Feed Me”, near the front (apart from the gurkha teams, who go off at a cracking pace. We continued to pack up, and before long I thought we ought to head off to CP2 to meet the team. I must admit I misjudged the timing and left Josie to do more tidying up, but like a trooper she said yes to it without a question. Rob and I were covering at CP2, while Heather went to get some shopping bits and was to meet us at CP4. We’d decided that covering every CP wasn’t necessary.

Anyway – the team rolled in, with two mixed teams in front of them. Rob and I kept quite about this, and amazingly, no-one asked! Our guys looked fantastic, really up and not a hint of anything but freshness. We plied them with flapjack, banana bread and coffee, and sent them off on a five minute turn-around. The stop is an interesting tactic – how much time do you allow? The lead mixed team gave their team doggy bags containing jelly beans etc, while we actually had a stop, thereby costing five minutes. Then again – how much psychologically is gained from the stop? The Gurkhas have another tactic – they borrow a formula one pit crew for the day – the walkers lie on their backs, while one person hands them a sarnie or whatever and a separate support crew member attends to changing shoes and socks. I know that sound like I’m being over the top for humour purposes, but it really does happen. Okay – they’re not a formula one pit crew, but I suspect they spend time drilling sock changes and thingsThey also have a separate couple of team-mates running with them to carry kit and presumably with water etc.

Then we packed up the kit – tables, camping chairs, etc, and headed for CP4. We got a text from Heather asking if there was a supermarket in Arundel. Rob is blessed with a knowledge of every shop in Sussex (seemingly) but he wasn’t sure on this one, so I suggested asking a native. Anyway – it all worked out, as Heather turned up complete with extra provisions, and we set about getting out kit set up.
At CP2 we got the car positioned so we were next to the waling route – it’s important to do this for a fast time as otherwise the walkers have to walk extra distance. Sometimes just the organisation of CPs makes this impossible, so at CP4 we ferried the kit to a point on the walk route. We use a crate system, whereby each walker has their own crate (or bag) and we can just grab a crate quickly and locate their kit within seconds. This is easier than lots of separate containers that quickly get mixed up in the boot of a car. We also had chairs, table, food and camping equipment, so it took the three of us several trips. Snoop and Tiger turned up to run with the guys, and before long the walkers were there.

Here we had a dilemma – the previous night we’d had a conversation where the walkers had asked for cheese butties and Leon had said he fancied jam in his. Now – did Leon mean he wanted jam butties, or did he mean he wanted cheese and jam? The others thought this was an absolutely crazy idea, but as a long time lover of cheese and marmalade, I believed that this was a possibility. We made an executive decision, and opted to do cheese butties and jam butties, and to do a speedy cheddar changeover (tm Bear) if Leon wanted both flavourings in his rolls. Which it turns out he did – although I’m not sure he had raspberry in mind! I did actually try a bit and as it happens, it works!

Before we had time to draw breath, the walkers appeared. I keep using the phrase walkers, but actually they were jogging the flats and downhills. We did another speedy pit stop (although not gurkha speed) and they went off with the two pacers. We carted the kit back to the car and set off for CP6. The walkers were well ahead of the 9 min/km pace they needed to do sub-15, being at around 8 min/km. All was looking good. However it’s a hard one to judge – the terrain varies greatly so the end which is a bit hilly can slow you dramatically, particularly when tired.

CP6 – and we got Heather’s gazebo (or gazzbo) set up. We prepped all we could, including a flask of coffee, as the ten minutes notice we often got that they were about to arrive isn’t enough to do stuff from scratch always, even though you do learn tricks like getting pre-boiled water from the gurkhas and just keeping that hot on the camping stove. Such is the benefit of experience of a good TW support crew.

At this point (there’s a long section) we actually managed to chill for 30 minutes, and had some scrambled egg on toast. Then a call came in for sugary tea! Feck! We hadn’t got tea bags! (The walkers don’t know this). We raided the gurkha tent (you can get tea anyway so it was no problem) and made up cups. How many sugars? We didn’t know, so in the interest of speed put one in each (you can’t have sugary tea without sugar right?) and had more on standby.

In pitched the walkers, keeping to the steady 8 minute mile speed. By this point we also had nuts and Pringles available, although somehow the support crew managed to devour half a tube before the walkers arrived. Anyway – we fed and watered them, Allison attended to her blisters, and then some peeps from TW turned up to interview our guys for the promotional video they do. In a way this was a nuisance, as it took up about ten minutes, but we were all buzzing from the event, and were happy to do it. If it helps raise money for Oxfam etc etc. Just as we were ready to go, someone asked if their walker (who had lost his team) could join ours, and we agreed on the strict understanding that we were going at our pace and it was up to him to keep up as we had a schedule. He agreed, and then wandered off and took at least three minutes (Ahem!) putting on his camelbak! Anyway – we were still well ahead of schedule so no probs.

Off now to CP8. This is on the side of a hill by two windmills called Jack and Jill. By this point I had switched to Heather’s car to navigate, as she hadn’t seen the CP before (it’s been moved since Heather last did TW two years ago), and Rob had his SatNav. We started a joke about me being Heather’s Satnav! Anyway – I got her there, and we carried the crates across to the edge of the field where the walkers come in. We eyed the gurkha coffee tent and Rob suggested soup. It smelt good so I went for it, and it was. I was unsure what it was, so asked a gurkha. “It smells of vegetables”, he replied, which isn’t really an answer but it tasted of vegetables too, so I’m hopeful!

The walkers arrived – slowed slightly by the inclines, and had decided they needed a 10 minute break. We did the usual routine, making particularly sure as Allison and Stuart looked a bit weaker than usual (still very good) to make sure they ate plenty of sugary stuff. Then back out the gate and off to CP9. We’d decided to do this one as CP10 is inaccessible to cars. This meant quite a rush! We packed up the cars and headed off. It didn’t take long, we got the kit out for the final time. All went smoothly, and the team still had 1:45 to do the remaining 11 kilometres to get sub 15. All looked good! We confidently set off, heading for the finish at Brighton race course. I was buzzing by this point and got over-excited by the Amazing Maize Maze, which is where they cut a maze in a field of maize. I was just about to say “What a corny pun” to Heather when I missed our turn off, and had to drive on another mile or so to find a place to turn. Heather jokingly moaned about how crap her SatNav was compared to Rob’s, but we got back on track to some comments of “Do a U turn as soon as possible” in SatNav voice. Alll went smoothly after that, and we decided to stop at an offy en route to grab a bottle of champers. Heather popped in while I texted Rob to tell him there was no need to get one. Who should Heather bump into in there though? Rob! Anyway – they didn’t have any (decent) fizzy pop so we opted for beer instead. Then to the finish.

We got the crates out ready to take to the finish line. This isn’t normally a job we need to do, but it was gone 8pm and the weather was closing in, so we thought warm clothes were essential. We then set the cars up ready for home, as inevitably stuff had been swapped about between boots. Then off to the finish to watch the sky line for our team.

As we got there, the clock for our start time showed about 14:10 – we had 50 minutes to finish in. We didn’t expect a problem, as we had loads of time and were well ahead of schedule all the way through. However – we had noticed the teams who had reached the CPs ahead of use and were aware roughly of who to expect when, barring sudden changes or injuries. A lot of the teams who had been close had not come in - it seems that a lot of teams were finding this section tough. Then – with about 15 minutes to go, we thought we saw a team that had been 5 or 6 minutes in front of ours appear on the horizon. This was great, but there was still a mile or so to go, so even if we caught them it was going to be touch and go. Five minutes later, our guys appeared, and Rob and I set off up the track to meet them. We cheered the team in front of us, and saw them just scrape under the fifteen hours by a couple of minutes. Could our guys do it?

The racecourse is nicely marked our with furlong poles, with our finish lane at 1 furlong. There are 8 furlongs in a mile, so each is 220 yards or 200m. As we reached out guys they had 3 furlongs to do and about 1 minute to do it in. I realised then that we were going to have to be content with just over 15 hours, and jogged back to the finish line with our team who amazingly managed a cracking pace given they’d run very nearly 100km.

We peeled off to the side so as not to get in the pictures, but due to the angle of the cameraman I don’t think we managed it! Anyway –they crossed the line in 15:03 – agonisingly close to the target. I was frustrated, then suddenly thought – “wow – that was a great time anyway, does it really matter?”. Everyone was up, including me, and we sat them down at a bench we’d bagsied.

At this point Stuart felt wobbly, so we sat him down on the grass, covered him with any spare clothing, and generally took care of him. He quickly recovered, and we headed off for a gurkha curry that went down a treat!

Then home, reflecting on a great day. While we'd come third in the mixed team event, our time would have won the event last year. More than anything though, we were proud as we could possibly be with our team :-)

More to come later!!