There has been so much going on and I've been so busy that I can't possibly fit it all on this update so I am going to focus on our Surrey Three Peaks Challenge. All other news will have to wait otherwise I won't do any of it justice.
Last Saturday, April 4th, saw my son and I take part in The Surrey Three Peaks Challenge...a 26.1 mile walk which included three of the highest hills in the county. We were attempting to raise £250 for the Stickler Diagnostic Clinic. Our choice of charity was based on the work that they do researching Stickler Syndrome - a genetic condition which various members of my extended family have and are affected by.
Jack stayed at our house on the night before our walk and at 5.30 am I woke him up, we had a drink and a hot cross bun for breakfast (well, it was Easter) and we got dressed into our attire which included our charity t-shirts.
At 6 am we set off to Holmbury St Mary village hall which was where we were to meet the organisers of the event. It was an fairly straightforward trip and we got to our destination in plenty of time. We signed in and were given our step by step instructions and told that we could start our challenge as soon as we were ready. There were walk leaders who were leaving at 8 am but we decided to do our own thing and set off at 7.11 am.
The weather was dull and overcast but it wasn't raining which was a bonus so we didn't need to wear waterproofs. (Jack didn't need to wear his bin bag!) The ground underfoot was wet which made for a very muddy, slippery walk and Jack did fall over at least once and must have tripped and slipped on various tree roots about a dozen times in the first hour of the walk.
Within a very short time we were at Holmbury Hill and then, about 4 miles later, we arrived at Leith Tower. All was going swimmingly and spirits were high. We knew we were doing well and on course to be the first people back from the 26.1 platinum group. There were two other distances (silver and gold) that people could choose to walk but I chose the longest one for us....obviously!
From Leith Hill it was another 8 miles to get to Box Hill. It really was a lovely walk. We went past the waterfall in the pic above and Jack was delighted to find that we had to walk through several fields occupied by some very noisy sheep.
We kept up a very good pace and followed our instructions to the letter and soon arrived at Box Hill. The guy who was dropping off the water at the designated water stops en route arrived to drop off his supplies just as we got there so that was good timing. We caught him out because we had set off at such an early time.
The climb to the top of Box Hill was tough but it was also exhilarating. We encouraged each other with jibes and taunts until we reached the peak which was heaving with families, cyclists, dogs and walkers. We had been told that we needed to log in with some marshalls when we arrived and, after a quick search, we found them, signed in. collected our first two stickers and sat down for a drink and an energy bar before setting off on the return leg of our journey.
Everything was going well and spirits remained high.
It was not long before we started to feel the effects of all of the walking and our energy levels started to dip. It suddenly dawned us that, as we were retracing our steps, we would, in effect, we doing 5 peaks not 3. We have 8 miles to walk back to Leith Hill and the thought of that was demoralising.
We felt that Box Hill had always been our goal and we had reached that. Then all we had to do was walk the same distance back to the start....and no goal apart from to actually get back and complete the mileage.
Then, as if that wasn't enough, we got lost. To be honest i think we weren't concentrating properly. We ended up walking at least an extra mile before we realised that we were off track and had to retrace our steps to dins out where we had gone wrong. We had missed a footbridge. No biggy.....apart from the fact that another walker was crossing the footbridge which meant that we weren't in front anymore.
Initially, we saw this as a challenge and tried to catch up with the girl and overtake her but we had no chance. She disappeared off into the distance and was walking at a great pace. The fact that we were not going to finish first had a bad effect on us both but Jack felt it most and it really affected his mood. He became quiet and started to lag behind. He was tired and fed up and not feeling great.
We trudged on through mud and puddles and then more mud and the way back seemed much more hilly than the outward leg. At one point I looked back to talk to jack and I couldn't see him. he then came into view and I knew he was struggling.
As we finally approached Leith Hill for the second time Jack caught up with me and said that he would have to stop when we reached the top. He did look rough. He was exhausted and I was a bit worried about him for a minute. However, once the climb was over and we had sat down for a few minutes and had a drink he was feeling better and ready to finish what we had started.
This was where I started to feel that I might not be able to make it to the finish. Nothing was that painful...I was just exhausted and was finding it really hard to put one foot in front of the other. The thought of dragging myself on for another 4 or 5 miles was not good.
However, that stubborn/determined streak that I often mention that I apparently have would not let me stop. We had both promised ourselves that we were going to finish the job and that's what we did. We dragged ourselves onwards and literally upwards as more hills and slopes seemed to be around every corner and on every horizon.
Finally, the downward slope to the village hall and the starting point of our challenge came into view. I don't think I have ever felt so relieved. 10 hour after we set off...yes, 10 hours....some 2 hours more than we had anticipated at the start....we arrived back safe and sound and completely shattered. We weren't even particularly elated to have finished. We were so tired.
We were greeted by one of the organisers who told us that we were the 2nd and 3rd people back (grrr! we knew we should have been 1st and 2nd) and we were given our platinum sticker and congratulated on our achievement. we were invited into the hall for a hot drink but were told that we had to take our boots off to do so. If we had done that we probably wouldn't have got them back on again so we threw our bags into the car, gingerly lowered our aching bodies into the car and set off back to our homes.
I dropped Jack off and popped in for a quick cup of tea. I had to take my filthy shoes off before going into his house so I kicked my boots off and peeled the muddy, wet socks off of my weary feet. Amazingly, there was not too much damage done......
Cup of tea enjoyed, I put on some clean, dry socks and forced my swollen feet back into my mud soaked boots and drove home.
It was on the way home that I actually had time to think about what we had achieved and how well we had done. It was a much tougher challenge than either of us had anticipated I think. I had done some hill walking but probably hadn't done enough mileage. However, we did it and we did it well.
The following morning wasn't too bad at all. I was expecting pain and soreness. There was some but nothing like I had feared.
The end!
We have raised a fantastic amount for our chosen cause. At the moment our total stands at just over £780 and we still have a few more donations to collect or receive. We are both overjoyed and overwhelmed with the support that we have been given and, once again, thank you all for being so great.
xxxxx
No comments:
Post a Comment