Just keep on going ...

So there was a big walk in the North this past weekend which I am sure most of you have heard about but before we get to that bit there was another walk that happened.
On Thursday evening last week I journeyed North to Ulverston where I was an intern last year. On the Friday I wanted to get out and stretch my legs before Saturday's monster walk. Rowan who I was staying with, my former boss Vic, the Keddilty's and I went up to The Hoad monument. For those of you who don't know, The Hoad monument is a large lighthouse monument standing tall on a rocky outcrop above the town of Ulverston. It is basically what the Tower of London is to London but in Ulverston - I couldn't visit town without seeing it again. It was great fun to catch up with old friends but also get a cheeky mile in before the big day.
Walk Total: 1 Mile
Overall Total: 127.6

Then came the biggy ... As I sat with Rowan the evening before the big day, the enormity of the walk began to sink in. We were going to be getting up extremely early, walking for most of the day and climbing some serious hills like nothing in Surrey. Anyway bed time that night was around 9pm and the alarm was set for 03:00am on Saturday morning. Surprisingly I slept really quite well and I woke up with quite a shock. Shaking with tiredness and forcing myself to do stuff too quickly, I dragged some clothes on, grabbed my bag and the box of ID tags, poured some water on my instant porridge and walked into town with Chris at 3:20am. There we dished out the I.D. tags to the other members of the team and boarded the "un"Happy Bus, aptly named by the organisers.
We arrived at St. John in the Vale (just outside of Keswick) at 5:30 said our goodbyes to the members of the team who were going to be going faster and gathered ourselves for the next 42.6 miles. Then we went for it, Tommy, Rob, Chris and myself checked in at the start line at 5:58 and walked down the valley toward Thirlmere. We passed the St. John in the Vale retreat centre where I had stayed on internship retreats and it felt surreal to be there again. 2.6 miles down the road we hit our first marker and to be honest it was a telling reminder of what lay ahead ... 40 Miles to go.

Morning Rob!

40 miles to go!

From here we crossed the A591 and passed down the west side of Thirlmere (a reservoir/lake). This was quite a long drag down the road on the lakes western shore, our seemingly fresh legs didn't seem to mind that much. We would turn around and view our progress down the lake and think we were doing pretty well. At the far end of the lake we faced our first real climb, Dunmail Raise and at the top we had our first support station manned by Vic who supplied us with flapjack and sent us on our way down the other side and into Grasmere. In Grasmere we hit our first check point were we tapped in our ID tags and headed over to our second station manned by Glynn and Joe Shephard, I had a mars bar and chatted to them and Mark and Sarah Callaghan who were supporting another team (it's ok, we wont hold it against them ;))before heading off on the next leg of the trek. We travelled along the west side of Grasmere along to the infamous Red Bank road ... Red Bank is the steepest section of the walk and no amount of trips up Box Hill will prepare you for that. Nevertheless the team ploughed on, we didn't stop once going up Red Bank and were rewarded a stunning view of the Langdale Fells.

Thirlmere looking good early in the morning

At the top of Red Bank looking across to Langdale

We are about 15 miles in now and this is where things start to get nasty. I had developed a pain in my right foot which meant that every step, the stretching motion in my foot, felt as if something was about to snap. Downhill was the worst ... Not really the best thing you want at the top of a climb. Chris hung back with me and we wandered down into Elterwater and into checkpoint 2. We didn't see Tommy and Rob waiting for us (whoops) and assumed they had carried on so we carried on and got to the top of the next hill where we phoned Rob and Tommy to see where they had got to. They said they would catch us up and it's a good job they did as I started to slow massively. We passed an Ambulance stop about 3 miles out of Coniston and they said my salt levels had probably dropped too low and I needed to replace them. I was given a bit of a rub and salt solution and sent on my way.

The next three miles were agony ... very slow and to be honest I don't really know how I made it into Coniston. As well as the pain in my right foot the back of my left knee decided it wanted in on the action too. Tommy, Rob and Chris gave me a ton of support and stayed with me the whole way. Limping into Coniston at 20 miles, I had a big decision - do I give up now or risk further injury and carry on down the East side of Coniston where rescue is more difficult. Being a bigger check point (the half way point) I stopped at another first aid tent where I was given a hot rub, followed by a cold rub then the two first aiders conferred with each other, "what next?" "Bandages!"Michael and Jenny who were our support team there were legendary and tried to get me to see that there was no shame in giving up now but totally supported me by saying if I wanted to continue they would do what they could to get to us in case of rescue.

Strapped up I hobbled out of Coniston, not knowing how much further I could go. We reached the point of no return, where you start to go down the East side of Coniston lake and rescue is much harder, and said "mind over matter". There were now 20 miles to go, putting pain to the back of my mind, Chris and I set the pace for the group with Tommy and Rob not far behind. After stopping shortly for lunch we carried on much like before, going as quick as we could passing Water Park 27.8 miles in and heading up to Lowick.

Michael met us in Lowick where we shed some of our spare clothes and food. With his shades on Rob said that Michael looked like a retired spy, when really he is a retired vicar, he prayed for us before we took our final major ascent up Kirkby Moor. Uphill being my strong point we did pretty well (probably spurred on by Chris' high energy gels) up the longest climb of the walk again we all stuck pretty much together. Approaching Horrace (a place not a person), Rowan and Ellie came out to meet us, Rowan had completed the Keswick to Barrow in 9 hours and came back to cheer us first timers on. Having people come out and cheer you on was the best! We then descended into Marton and slowed quite a bit. Vic came to meet us again and gave us more flapjack and we then went off to Dalton the last town before Barrow. Rob and I chatted heavy metal for the hour 45 minutes it took us from Marton to Dalton, really nice to find another metal head although it took 37.4 miles to find that out!

Looking back to the distant Coniston fells ... Yeah we came from further than the eye can see ...

10 Miles left and still not at the top of Kirkby Moor!

Descending Kirkby Moor towards Marton, Barrow is in the distance, I could see famous white buildings of BAE

It was really nice to roll into Dalton as there was only 3 miles to go and we went for it. Knowing we were so close to the end we just stormed it ... well ... as best as you can after 39.6 miles in blazing sunshine. As we hit Abbey Road (yes Barrow has one too) Rowan and Jonny took our bags and anything we didn't need and they tooted and cheered us as they drove off, Vic and my mum did the same as they followed moments later. We passed Furness General Hospital (not stopping off on the way) and hit the 1 mile to go marker. Tommy posed for the picture below but then realised it was a bad idea to bend down. Metres from the finish line Rowan and Jonny commanded that we run into Hawcoate Park and across the finish line. With big shouts we jogged across the line in a line formation - as a team - reaching the end together.
We crossed the line at 21:03, just over 15 hrs after we started ... The time doesn't matter - We did it that's what matters!

Yeah, Tommy, you have to get up mate!

Job well done team!

Surprisingly I could lift my leg enough to cross it haha!

What a day it was, the sun was rising as we set off and setting as we finally came into Barrow. There was a lot of pain, there still is and I cant feel one of my toes properly but we made it and I totally mean WE without the rest of the team, the support crew, the marshalls, the St. Johns Ambulance service we wouldn't have done it. Whilst it was nice to have the sun with us - it was a killer ... to walk 42.6 miles on its own is bad but in blazing sunshine and heat was awful. Nevertheless, it is done. Would I do it again?
Yes.
Walk Total: 42.6 Miles
Overall Total: 170.2 Miles
Please do not forget I am doing this for charity, I am walking 500 miles for the Rainbow Trust Children's Charity who support young people with serious and terminal illnesses and their families at the most difficult of times. To donate follow this link: http://uk.virginmoneygiving.com/500mileschallenge
For the Keswick to Barrow I was also walking for Open Doors a Christian charity who help those who are persecuted for their faith. To donate to them follow this link: http://k2b.furness.net/product/charlie-day/ 
This is all in memory of my Uncle who I spent a lot of time walking with!

Big foot versus Little foot