The One about Trek 50! (Part Two)

Section Four

I started section 4 with a renewed vigour!  I think I was in a much better head space by this point as I knew the section I had dreaded most was over and I knew there was only just over 20 miles to go (after walking 28 miles, 20 really does not seem that bad!).  At the start of this section we started walking with another group, Covers 2 whom we would spend the next 11 1/2 hours and the rest of the trek with.  We had seen this group several times before in the previous three sections as we overtook them and vice versa as we took little breaks.  It quickly became apparent that the route we were supposed to take was not an option...it was across some farm land which although I am pretty sure is a public footpath the dog barking at the gate had us all think an alternate route may be better.  Unfortunately this alternate route meant going up and round and boy was it up!  It was like bitch hills evil bitchier sister!  We got to the top and just kept walking, and the rain came again.  The temperature also started to drop at this point so the rain became uncomfortable.  To be honest this section was pretty unremarkable, initially it seemed to go pretty quickly because we were talking to the other team, on the previous 28 miles I think we had run out of things to say to each other! 

After a quick check in with a marshal we were directed as to where we needed to carry on.  So we kept plodding on, it got darker so the head torches came out.  At this point the section started to feel like it was taking a lot longer than it should.  There was multiple times where we stopped to check we were on the right path as walking in the dark can really screw with your bearings.  There was another not horrendous hill and then it was down.  And not a nice down.  Down, in the dark, in the rain, on wet grass as there was no defined path.  The downhill seemed to never end, after seeing no other teams for the previous 8 or so miles we finally started seeing others again.  So on we went, down and down and down until we reached our next checkpoint which I think was a cricket club. A cup of tea was greatly received.  Unfortunately at this checkpoint Ruban had to retire after walking a valiant 38 miles.  Many others stopped at this same checkpoint, some from injury, some from sheer exhaustion.  By this point it was midnight, everyone was soaked through and I think some just had enough.  6 full teams declined to carry on from this point and numerous individuals did too, including a member from the team we were walking with who was struggling with their knee. 

I too had a hairy moment at this checkpoint.  We were getting ready to head off and tackle section 5 and upon standing I felt really dizzy.  I sat down but it didn't abate and I felt like I was going to be sick.  I stood again and felt as if I was about to drop, Hannah and Paul said the colour drained from me and they carried me to a medic.  He inspected me and checked my blood sugar which was normal. Although I had just drunk a sweet tea.  He suspected it was exhaustion; also my lack of eating during the trek had caught up with me.  Another sweet tea, a couple of dextrose and luckily the dizziness passed and we were ready to go.  This was the scariest moment of the trek for me as I had it in my head that I was going to finish this but my body was letting me down.  Eventually, my head won and my body just went with the flow. 

Section 5


Section 5 started a little like section 3.  I was a little anxious given my recent dizzy spell and I knew this was where the last big bitch hill was.  Again the rain decided to screw us over and my energy levels were slumped at this point.  We slowly started to ascend and I took short 10 second breaks every minute or so to keep me going.  Massive thanks to the Covers 2 guys who relieved me off my backpack and carried it all the way to the next checkpoint!  It soon turned out we were on the wrong hill.  Disappointment overwhelmed me as it soon transpired that all the ascent we made which I would estimate to be approx 500 feet was for nothing.  After scrambling down some boulders (not fun when it’s wet, slippy and dark!) we were on the right path once more and again we climbed.  I had another bit of a mardy at this point as Hannah repeatedly said "the flat bit is just up ahead", eventually I snapped and said "you said that 10 minutes ago!" shortly after we reached the flat!  Unbeknownst to me, Paul who was behind me at this point was getting a bit wobbly so when we reached the flat we took a short break.  After getting some sugar and electrolytes in him he was good to go.  We were now back on familiar territory that we covered in section 2, we kept walking and as we did the sun started to rise.  We were making good time and everybody’s spirits raised as it became apparent we could finish this within 24 hours (this was in doubt at the last checkpoint).  Despite the fact we had been walking for 22 hours we reached checkpoint 5, the last before the finish in good spirits and surprisingly alert!  Another tea and it was time to tackle the last 4 miles!

Section 6


Everybody seemed to go a bit quiet at this point.  Perhaps they were too knackered to talk; perhaps they were focussed on reaching the finish line.  Myself, I was thinking about the previous 46 miles and how much we and I had achieved and that in a short time we would be at the end and all the pain, the tears, the suffering would have been worth it.  The rugby club and finish line in sight I felt overwhelmed with emotion and the achievement and crossing the finish line to applause I gratefully received my medal.  I immediately sat down and took off my boots and socks, my feet were a mess, and my legs ached, tiredness washed over me but still I was in awe of our achievement. 

We had done it.  We had walked 50 miles! 50! in 23 hours and 24 minutes!  Out of the 33 teams that set off at 7am the day before we finished in 15th place (pretty respectable I think!).

A bacon sandwich and a cup of tea later it was time to leave and head back to the hotel.  Although not before nominating Covers 2 for the 'Best Team Spirit' award, if it wasn't for them guys the last 3 sections would have been insanely dull and perhaps we might not have made it to the end.  I was pleased to find out a few days later that they won the award based on our nomination.  Well done guys!

After sleeping for most the day we woke up and compared pain.  Hannah...(damn her!) casually strolled along as if she had only walked 5 miles not 50 whilst I hobbled behind her like an 100 year old!  Both Paul and I had feet that had swelled to twice their size, blisters, joint pain etc.


So on reflection; after all of this I guess you are wondering if I would do it again?  The answer is YES!  Immediately after finishing the Trek I thought there is no way I would do it again, 30 miles perhaps, but 50 NEVER!  By the end of the week I decided that next year I want to do the London to Brighton 100k walk (approx 63 miles) and have deluded myself this will be easier than Trek 50 as it won't be so hilly.  Since doing the trek I have suffered with an ankle sprain, hip pain, blisters and lost two toenails (not counting the other one I lost in training!).  I can honestly say it was all worth it. 

Trek 50 I plan on taking you on again one day.  But until that day I plan to rest! 

To check out our video diary of the day go to:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I5rtvl7WMSg

The One about Trek 50! (Part One)

So, as many of you know a couple of weeks back now I took part in a challenge called Trek 50.  For those of you that don't know, Trek 50 is a fifty mile endurance challenge up in the Pennines that you have to complete in 24 hours.  I had been training for this for the previous 6 months and then on June 21st the time came to travel up north!

The night before we had a briefing where the organiser of the event went through the route with a fine toothcombe.  At this point we learnt there had been a couple of route changes which frankly terrified us because we were using the Satmap Active 10 to get us around and had already imported the gpx files.  Apparently, Paul can read a map so if worst came to worst we should be okay, but I wasn't convinced!  We also found out that the weather was going to be, for lack of a better word....shit.  It was going to rain, we were going to have 30-40 mph winds and the cloud would be so low we would be lucky to see our hand out in front of us.  Luckily, only two of those three turned out to be true but I will come on to that later.

So we headed back to the hotel, nervous and excited about the challenge the following day.  After a pretty average nights sleep we woke up at 4.30am and set of to the Rugby club that served as the start point.  By this point I was feeling physically sick with nerves and Hannah literally forced me to eat half a bacon sandwich and a few spoons of porridge.  7am came round far to quickly and then we were at the start point!

Section One:So all 33 teams of four set off together at 7am.  Fairly quickly these broke off into 3 distinct groups, the super fast, the middle and the slow.  We were in the middle and it became pretty clear early on the extent of the challenge we had signed up for.  For starters, the elevation profile seemed alot more intense than I had originally anticipated which got me worried as I knew there were some big hills coming up in later sections.  How big would they really be?!  Anyway, because this was the first section we were all pretty pumped and the weather was nice to us.  After 6 miles we reached the first checkpoint, loaded up on supplies then started section two...

Section Two:

None of us were overly concerned with this section as we knew it was mostly flat/downhill and we started to take in the beauty of the Pennine Way.  However, the weather had other plans for us.  We probably were not even a mile in before the wind and the rain came along.  And we're talking 30mph winds and the kind of rain that slaps you across the face. But, we persevered, I got really screwed at this section as the rain was that bad it permeated my boots from the top meaning I had wet feet for most of the section.  Not good when I already know I have a pre-existing vulnerability to blisters.  This meant I had to take a stop and patch up my feet the best I could but the blisters still came...and hurt.  We carried on with the section and although it was only 8 miles, it seemed to go on a bit, possibly because the initial excitement of section one had washed away with the rain.  It was during this section that we approached the first route change, luckily the event organisers stuck up helpful little arrows to send us on the right track.  The easy diversion we expected became a horrible downhill trek!  Walking downhill is fine, walking downhill for 10-15 minutes ruins your knees! Again we ploughed on through and reached Hebden Bridge and our second checkpoint.  After another round of patching up feet, changing into clean socks and getting supplies we headed off for Section Three, otherwise known as the Bitch Section...

Section Three...The Bitch SectionLong before the event, I dreaded Section Three.  It was 13.9 miles and had some pretty horrendous hills in it.  Needless to say I did not start this section in a positive mental attitude.  After tussling with the Hebden Bridge Carnival we started the section.  Paul had a fag, as naturally you do on a 50 mile walk and we thought about the challenge ahead.  After some initial confusion as to where we were supposed to head (Us with our Satmap versus some guys with a Map) we settled on the route.  I was starting to slump and had to force myself (Hannah force me) to eat.  The problem I was having was I was retching every time I took a bite.  We kept going and surprisingly the first bitch hill passed beneath us pretty quickly.  I had a blister pop beneath compeed not long after this which was pretty grim but after it drained, the pressure had released and actually I didn't feel this blister for the rest of the Trek!  We took in some pretty beautiful scenery during this section whilst battling with the occasional bursts of rain.  It was in this section that camaraderie with other groups began to show as we would overtake them and they us as we both took short breaks along the route. 

This section was my personal hell.  I hit the wall and I hit it bad.  When we had been walking for what felt like forever and Hannah informed me we weren't even half way through the section, the ipod came out.  Then came another big hill, which I hated but climbed anyway and didn't take that many stops on during the ascent. Then it transpires we have missed a turn at some point.  Not a total disaster as we could rejoin the path later but I felt so crap at that point it felt like the end of the world.  I started experiencing joint pain and was questioning my ability to finish this section let alone the rest of the challenge.  The only thing that kept me going was the support of Hannah and Paul who were so patient with me during this session.  Honestly, I was a whiny child, I do not know how they coped, although apparently Paul had a grouchy moment I missed.  Hannah must have been on Prozac or something because she was just inherently cheerful!  The other things that kept me going were the thought of a proper toilet, a hot meal, a longer break and some stronger painkillers at the next checkpoint.  The checkpoint just never seemed to come.  I later found out that for the last 3 miles of this section Hannah kept telling me had 1 mile to go...that's how bad it was!  Eventually, we reached the final stretch of the route...another downhill and we reached the checkpoint.  I don't think I have ever been so happy to see Sam in my life (our support vehicle driver!).  We sat down, relaxed, refreshed, took some painkillers and one hour later we set off on Section Four...

Injinji Toe Socks: Review

Okay so as you all may know, I have signed up for a 50 mile walk in the Pennines that needs to be completed in 24 hours. I must admit I have been a bit hit and miss with my training but recently have started taking it seriously.  Kind of have to...the event is in 3 week..eek!

Anyway, training has been going well, I have noticed my physical strength has definitely increased...I will never like hills but the less said about that the better!  After some initial struggles with hip flexor pain and muscle aches I have overcome all my early training woes.  Except one...Blisters.  Every walk the buggers get me.  For example, a couple for weeks ago I did 5 walks across the week totalling in at 36 miles, I collected a blister for each walk that had became some super strength mutant blister by the end of the week.

I normally start feeling them around the 5 mile stage, and whilst I have learnt to walk through the dull ache the blister gives me, it is not optimal walking conditions, especially for 50 miles.

The most annoying thing is the blisters are always in the same place...my little toes.  Basically, the fleshy part of my little toe ends up rubbing under the toe next to it the result being a blister.  Now my shoes fit great, unfortunately, this is how my toes just seem to naturally go...I'm guessing years of wearing stupidly high heels haven't helped (FYI, little toes ask the bunions, they will fill you all in about that!).  I have searched high and low for a solution on walking forums (yes I've become one of those people) for solutions.  One suggestion was a product called moleskin which acts as an extra layer of padding to reduce friction.  The didn't work that great as it slid off as soon as my foot got sweaty.  So my next trial was the purpose of this review: Injinji toe socks.  

Basically, these socks have a five toe sleeve construction to separate out your toes properly.  They also are mostly made of Coolmax® material so they wick away sweat from your feet.  In theory they prevent the two things which have caused blisters for me: friction and moisture.  

First of all I have to give credit to Base Layer, the company I ordered these from for their insanely quick delivery time.  I ordered them late evening on a Bank Holiday Monday and had them Wednesday morning.

So now to the review.  The first time I wore these they felt surprisingly normal.  I tried them out on a 6 mile walk and success, no blisters, for the first time in my training.  Unfortunately, this didn't last, I then did an 11 mile walk and the damned blisters returned.  However, I should add they were a lot smaller and less intense then I have previously experienced.  Perhaps if you don't have as problematic toes as I do to begin with they are more effective.  These aren't cheap though at £10.50 a pair but I have been impressed just by the reduction in my blister size. 

My next plan is to try combining the toe socks with other methods.  Gonna try using talcum powder on my feet before putting socks on to absorb moisture.  Also gonna try a moleskin/toe sock combo and see if that works.  My search for a blister cure, alas continues....