If you feel able to please do give generously to Alice's Escapes, who provide holidays for families with terminally ill children or families who have lost a child, using the following link: https://keswick2barrow.co.uk/donate/105434?cid2=105434
It's been a long time since the Isle of Wight and the end of the 500 Mile Challenge but needless to say the walking has continued although the terrain has somewhat changed having moved to Cumbria. Chris and I had been plotting for a while what our next challenge would be and we both decided that we would like to walk the Keswick to Barrow again, after all it couldn't be worse than the year before right?!
We enlisted Thomas Kjøndal, an intern at Ulverston Parish Church, to our team and bagged ourselves places on the fantastic Alice's Escapes team (thanks Sandy). Training was somewhat tricky as the three of us had very busy schedules but we had done ... well ... a bit. For me it was more a case of keeping things ticking over from IOW so I took myself around Coniston from my house in Spark Bridge which is 20 miles exactly and managed that in 5 hours which I was chuffed with. I felt no pain the next day either so I took that as a good sign. Thomas and Chris gradually built up their distances but were confident of their ability to do it. I would take myself off every night after work for a three mile walk/run along the roads by the house to keep the muscles fresh but was slightly concerned that I hadn't done anything over 20 miles since the IOW. I wasn't feeling too confident, especially after the state I was in last year ... Oh well there was no time to do any more training.!
I remember the apprehension the day before being unreal ... Was I mad to put myself through this again?! To top it off whilst out on a walk with Rob my housemate I fell over a stile and hurt my leg and I had a cold ... Just what you want when you're about to walk 42.7 miles!
Anyways I came home from kids group, quickly cooked myself some dinner and then made sure that I was in bed by 9:30pm because our get up time would be 2:30AM ... There are no words to describe the feelings I had when I put that into my phone alarm.
Everything was set for a quick get up, clothes all laid out, blister plasters tactically placed, bag packed, trainers prepped and instant porridge waiting to have water poured on it for the journey up to Keswick. My phone goes off and words cannot describe how rough I felt. I couldn't think straight so I was thankful things were laid out in front of me! I made a quick facebook call to my friend Mark Hanson in America as he was getting married to the lovely Grace that very day and then Chris came to pick me up.
We were late (my fault) so we bombed it down to Ulverston to pick up Thomas, who was surprisingly bubbly and full of enthusiasm. We headed down to the Team Alice bus pick up point where Thomas did his best to cheer up/irritate everyone (to this day he has never been as chirpy). Once on the bus, I sat next to Thomas who would not stop talking ... I had hoped to sleep for the hour and a bit bus journey but clearly that wasn't going to happen.
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| Man we look happy ... even though it was really cold and 5AM |
We were some of the first to arrive at the start and had around 40 minutes to wait before we were allowed to start at 5:30. It was freezing. The wind was blowing and I was in my shorts, I was really questioning why I was walking at that particular point. Nevertheless, shortly after 5:30 we crossed the start line. The banter was in fine form and we were going at a steady but good pace. We made the first four miles in an hour which was pretty good and we aimed to keep going at that pace. We headed down the west side of Thirlmere and were passed by our friend Rowan Barton who was RUNNING the K2B, what a guy! We kept on going and started to plog up Dunmail Raise the first real climb of the day and it felt pretty good. We got to the top where we met our team stop. This is where Thomas took his shoe off ... I have never seen such blistered feet in my life. Skin was hanging off. I looked at our team organiser and she looked back and you could tell the same thought was going through our heads, "You're 10+ miles in, what on earth are they going to be like at the finish!" Thomas "sorted" his feet out and left his bag with the team to take to the end and we went on our way.
We were all feeling pretty good so decided to run down some of the hill into Grasmere where we met the lovely Callaghans! They stocked us up at their check point and then we went on our way. We headed down the side of the lake towards the stupendous Red Bank climb. Thomas briefly made friends with a young lady along the road, alas we were outpacing her and climbed the hill very quickly and left her behind.
I was feeling quite nervous at this point as this was where things started to go wrong last year, but I was fully functioning and felt incredible. We met some of the youth that Thomas works with and checked on them before running down into Elterwater. We must have run about 3/4 of a mile down into the village and I was super impressed with our pace and general feeling. We checked in at Elterwater and didn't stop for too long before heading towards Tilberthwaite. We climbed to the top of Hodge Close and Chris said he didn't fancy running for a bit so we pegged the pace back a bit.
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| At the top of Red Bank |
We were slowed going into Coniston by other walkers going on the path into the village (understandable when there are 3000 of you). Chris said that he was starting to feel it but made it into Coniston well. We had got there in 6 hrs which was really good going! The first 21 miles were done, and we were relieved to see Michael Adams who had come out to supply us with flapjack which I accidentally dropped on the floor - it tasted great all the same! He blessed us (as he did last year) and we went onto our Team Alice checkpoint. We were greeted by bacon buns and very warm hospitality! It was such a privilege to walk for these guys, we didn't know them before the day but they treated us like old friends. Whilst stopped to eat Thomas sang to another lady in Norwegian ... he wouldn't say it himself but quite the charmer! We couldn't tell whether she was enjoying the serenade or completely weirded out.
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I would walk on ahead a little and then look back and see the two of them still at it. Thomas would join me for sections and we would always check back to make sure Chris was ok. We got to Water Park where the paramedics were tending to someone in a very bad way. It's important to remember that these endurance walks are no easy thing and sadly for some it's a bit too much. We headed on to Lowick where the Brockbank's would be waiting for us. It was so nice to see familiar faces out there cheering us on. They gave some supplies and wandered with them for a bit before they turned back. We also bumped into Ceara who was out waiting for some friends. The effect of having friends on the route is unbelievable - the boost they give is vital and makes the whole experience much more enjoyable.
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| Looking back to the Coniston fells ... We'd come from beyond the horizon ... |
From here the only way was up. The going got tough, so desperate times called for desperate measures - Chris' caffeine gels had to come out. Those things are like rocket fuel and soon I was powering up the side of Krikby Moor. I think this is where Thomas had another brief encounter with his first lady friend but again it was all too brief for the young Norwegian. Going up the moor we spread out a bit because we all had differing energy levels and aches and pains, for the most part it was myself out front, Thomas a bit further back and Chris completing the trio further down the road. The gaps were getting bigger so I decided to reign in the pace a bit, we made it to our team checkpoint at the top of the moor and it was clear that Chris was really starting to struggle now, Thomas suddenly went quiet and I ... well I was absolutely fine. We had done 30+ miles now and were certainly on the home stretch, just down the other side of the moor, through Marton, Dalton and into Barrow.
We started on some flatter ground and the gaps started to grow again, but this time I turned around and Chris was nowhere to be seen. Not good. I thought Thomas was with him but no, Thomas was not far behind me. We had a brief conversation in which he said he had to carry on and that was it, he was feeling it too. Thomas continued and I looked for Chris and sure enough he came into view. From now on I would stay with Chris at his pace. Thomas was in pain and decided to get to the finish at a pace that he felt more comfortable at, totally understandable - sadly we don't know how many more ladies he used his Norwegian charm on.
On the final descent we were greeted by the welcome sight of our friends Rowan and Saga who had come out to give us that motivation for the last few miles. As soon as I saw them I put on a turn of pace and sprinted up to them ... I can only say that Chris' caffeine gels made me extremely hyper.
Rowan had completed the 42 miles in 8:40(?) mins - top effort, but even bigger effort for coming out again to cheer us on. We left Rowan at Marton and he took the car on to Dalton or the finish, I can't remember which now. Saga continued with us down towards Dalton where there were many hilarious chats. As the video below shows ... I was ... well ... off the planet with energy ... I feel sorry for Chris having to witness the ease at which I bounded along the roads and Saga for enduring my insanity.
The pace was leisurely but that didn't matter, we were so nearly there and we were having a fun time. We had made it into Dalton and there was a very helpful Beaver, Cub, Scout group manning the checkpoint there - one of the boys was very talkative and he said that he was there from the first runner right up until the last walker. What a kid! He offered us plenty of sweets and encouraged us as we went.
The group got bigger again as Emily Mitchell joined us further down the road. Rowan drove past, which only encouraged my hyperness as I sprinted after his much faster Fiesta. Words cannot describe how I felt at this point. Not in a bad way ... in truth I didn't feel much pain at all but I had a phenomenal store of energy but I can't say that I could make any rational decisions. It was like an out of body experience but I was raring to go. Chris, myself and the fan club rolled out the far side of Dalton and onto Abbey Road. The end was in touching distance. Chris and I posed before the one mile to go sign and my face in Saga's picture says it all ... I was off my head on adrenaline. Chris was keeping it together nicely - he'd done so well. 41.7 down, 1 more to go.
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| The expression says it all ... |
The four of us continued triumphantly through the streets of Barrow till we came to Hawcoat Park, we could hear the music pumping and we could taste the end was nigh. I said to Chris that we would do what we did the previous year and run across the line. Chris was cautious but up for it, until I gunned it and he said "JUST START OFF SLOWLY!" and I pulled it back and we went across the line together.
We had done it. Again! This time round we were over an hour faster than the year before. Chris was pretty emotional but he had done it and so after picking up our medals we went and sat on the grass bank to collect our thoughts. Chris wasn't going to budge from the spot so I went and found the others and encouraged them to come over to where Chris was. After having stopped for a minute or two my muscles started to stiffen at which point Saga forced me into stretch positions that would cripple any man let alone a man who had just walked 42 miles. Thomas came over and congratulated us and then we all went our separate ways. Rowan dropped Chris and I back at the car we had abandoned in Ulverston at 3AM. Chris was confident he could drive and after one sketchy moment he proved himself to be right.
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| The blokes tried to tell me I hadn't checked into the check points ... |
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| Chris donning his medal with pride |
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| Wahey! Chris was very happy ... so happy his eyes were nearly closed |
I congratulated him again and mentioned I would see him at Cafe Church the next evening as he would be leading the service! Man we had done it again! What an effort.
I can safely say that after some food and a bath I was absolutely fine. Not a patch on the horrific pain of last year. The next day I was pretty much back to normal and even managed to run up the path to church.
The reason we do things like this is for fantastic causes. We get to have a great time but also we get to raise money for some incredible causes. This years Keswick to Barrow we were raising money for Alice's Escapes and they welcomed us in like a family. They were so happy for us to be walking for them and from the bottom of my heart I would like to say a huge thank you to Vicky and the team for being so wonderful in sorting out our team. The work they do in providing holidays for families with terminally or seriously ill children and families who have recently lost a child is invaluable. These guys wear their hearts on their sleeves and put their all into everything. If you feel you can donate to their amazing work please do so using the link below.
Again we had a great time, we pushed ourselves to the limit, had a laugh and raised money for a fantastic charity. Last year there were some doubts as to whether we would enter again, this time around there is no question in my mind. Until next May, well I had better find something else mad to do.
If you feel able to please do give generously to Alice's Escapes, who provide holidays for families with terminally ill children or families who have lost a child, using the following link: https://keswick2barrow.co.uk/donate/105434?cid2=105434
