Top 10 Tips from our 6th Training Walk

As previously reported our plan to walk 62 miles this weekend, fell somewhat short, where the definition of "somewhat" in this instance is '18 miles'!


However, that is not to say that the weekend didn't teach us anything, and so here are our 'Top 10 Tips': -

1. Look after your feet
2. Look after your feet
3. Look after your feet - I'm not sure that I have stressed this point sufficiently, but maybe the following picture may help. This is a picture of my feet taken after 44 miles walking in inadequate footwear. To protect the squeamish I have pixelated any area of my feet that was either blistered, cut, or, to use the medical Latin term "skankus horribillus"! Buy well fitting walking boots/shoes, and wear them in. If you haven't done so already, wear them at every opportunity between now and the walk. Wear them on the way to work (thanks Ali for the tip!), in bed, in the bath, and wherever else you can. Actually, on second thoughts don't wear them in the bath; although you can obviously wear them in Bath!
4. Do not set too fast a pace at the start - Unless you are one of the wonderful Gurkhas, completing the first 5km in 30 minutes is not to be advised, as not only will you end up in hospital, but you are almost certain not to complete the event. Remember the idioms re 'the tortoise and the hare' & 'slowly, slowly, catchy monkey', and you won't go far wrong. However, don't start talking about hares, monkeys and tortoises whilst on the event itself, as you are likely to find yourself whisked off the hills and into the back of a waiting ambulance, prior to being taken to the nearest Psych ward!!  Anyway, before moving on to point 5, when I have competed in 5km Charity runs, I have usually taken about 25 mins. This is actually the pace that the Gurkhas maintain for the whole Trailwalker 100km Challenge!! A-maz-ing!
5. Ensure you drink little and often - there are dangers of over-hydrating, so a 'camel-pack' is ideal, as well as ensuring that fluid is taken at the checkpoints. We started to run short of fluid from 20 miles on our walk this weekend and by the end of 28 miles, my support team told me that I "...sounded a little weird", although I'm not sure how they knew.
6. Look after your feet - have I already mentioned this?
7. Ensure that your support team realise that they are as important as you are in achieving the challenge! - If they are not in the right place, at the right time, with the right gear, you are likely to f-f-f-f-Fail! The support team, even on long training walks can lift spirits, simply by being at a particular meeting place at, and ideally slightly before, the agreed time (especially if they have appropriate food and drink aplenty). All that we have to do on the day itself is walk! The support team have to be navigators, motivators, paramedics, caterers, planners, time managers, drivers & all round "good eggs", if fact BLOODY HELL, they have to be almost super-human, and luckily, our support team are!!
8. The feet thing - quite important! Am I being a bit paranoid about this? My doctor said I was a bit paranoid. Well, he didn't actually say that I was, but I know that that was what he was thinking!
9. Make sure that work colleagues know when the event is happening - the support of colleagues and friends is also important, as is their money/sponsorship. Let them know when the event is happening and how well you do (because you will do well!). This is important for two reasons. One, it is very important to thank people for their support/financial donations, and, two, you are likely to look as though you are either walking on broken glass on the days after the event, or came to work on a horse which has only very recently escaped!
10. Don't forget why you are doing this!  - (This should actually be No. 1) Maybe you, on your own won't change the world by doing this, but, every pound that you earn for Oxfam, WILL start to change the lives of those helped by your efforts. Every blister, every strained muscle, pales into insignificance when you stop to think about how much good YOU are doing, and how much happiness you will bring to others!