Challenge over

Five months ago, when I set up this blog, I asked the question of whether it was possible to complete Offa’s Dyke on foot in 3 days. Unfortunately, at 5pm on the 3rd day I ‘pulled up lame’ after completing 151 miles. My left foot and ankle had started to cause me problems on the 2nd day and I battled on during the final day when every step was very painful. When it got to the point when I couldn’t move my left foot up or down as it was so swollen, I knew the challenge was up.

Having had a couple of days to reflect on this I’m not as disappointed as I thought I might have been. Before the challenge, I thought through all the possible eventualities and I was always aware that injury could cut the challenge short. I could never be certain how my body would react to such prolonged periods of walking and jogging over very challenging terrain. Being so close to the finishing line with time left is frustrating, but I know I couldn’t have carried on with the state that my ankle and foot were in.



Day 1

After months of training the challenge finally started just after 4am on Saturday. The day went as well as I could have hoped. I had good energy levels throughout and managed to cover 71 miles by 11.40pm.

After completing the first five hours on my own, Nick and Hamish then took it in turns to join me for about 3 hours at a time for the rest of the day. It was a great help to have them there and they did a good job in keeping the pace up and pushing me on.

The final part of the day became very tough for a few reasons. There were some steep climbs when my legs were starting to tighten and then once it was dark, Nick and I came to a part of the path that led us across fields filled with cows. At one point we were charged by about a dozen angry/scared cows and I got stuck on a barbed wire fence trying to get away! Luckily I only had bloody hands to show for the incident.

Once at our accommodation I had a shower and food and then, unsurprisingly, feel asleep very quickly around 12.20am.

Day 2

Four hours of sleep later and I was up again and, after some food, back on the path. Whereas on the first day the weather had been just about perfect (warm, a gentle breeze and cloud cover), the second day was cold, wet and windy.

Other than a long steep climb after about 3 miles, the first few hours of the day were generally quite kind on the legs. That was soon to change as Nick joined me for a 12 mile section of steep ups and downs on very slippery and muddy ground that slowed us down considerably. It was around this time that my ankle started to cause me pain and the rest of the day became quite hard work trying to make up for the time lost earlier on. Another friend, Jonah, joined me for the afternoon and evening and also did a great job in difficult conditions to keep me going at a good pace.

Unfortunately, I didn’t reach my target for the day and as it was getting dark we made the decision to stop rather than to head up into some more hills.

Although I hadn’t walked for as long or as far as the first day, it had been far tougher. The wet conditions underfoot on the hills had made it very difficult and my ankle had caused me a lot of pain for over half of the day. 47 miles in 16 hours was a lot less than I had planned to do and, ultimately, it was the effects of this day that I believe prevented me from completing the challenge.

Day 3

As soon as I woke up at 3.40am on Monday I knew that it would be a real struggle as my ankle and foot had swollen significantly overnight. At 4.15 I met Nicky, a colleague from school, at a rearranged location and started at a steady pace. Every step on my left foot was now causing me a lot of pain, particularly when going downhill. At the first stop after 15 miles, I changed the strapping on my ankle and it was now noticeably bigger than it had been when I had woken.

The next 18 miles were gruelling. The range of movement in my left foot was gradually becoming less and less and one of my toenails had come loose and was digging into my toe!

At the 151 mile mark I made the decision to stop. I had gone as far as I could, thought about it carefully and was realistically not going to be able to complete the path in 3 days.

Nicky had done a fantastic job in keeping me going as long as possible, but she too realised that I couldn’t go any further.




It has been good to look back on the whole challenge and what I’ve gone through over the last five months. Converting from rugby fitness into endurance fitness was a long process, but one that I enjoyed. As the distances I was covering increased so did the length of my training sessions and this meant sacrificing whole weekends to training and missing out on some social events. Cutting out drinking almost completely was not too difficult and being sober at two weddings, a stag do and my 30th birthday was actually not bad at all!

Of course, it has not just been about the physical side of the challenge. Organising the fundraiser and raffle was a new experience for me and I have been astonished at the levels of generosity that people have shown. I still have some money to pay into the justgiving account which will bring me to within £100 of my £5000 target. I never thought that I would reach it and I would like to take this opportunity to thank everyone who has contributed to this cause. I really appreciate it and I know that everyone at ‘fordementia’ will as well.

Finally, I would like to thank some people who have helped with the challenge.

Firstly, Sholto, who came up with the idea of the challenge and who I know was devastated when he was forced to pull out with a broken foot in February.

Hamish supported with me for the whole of the challenge and did an incredible job in keeping me going. He walked some sections with me on Saturday and the rest of the time met me every few hours so I could ‘refuel’. He also got up incredibly early to get my food ready and make sure I had everything ready for the day. Thank you so much, big fella!

Nick and Jonah also did a great job in walking with me on Saturday (Nick) and Sunday (Nick and Jonah). Being a personal trainer, Nick used his motivational skills to good effect and he also turned up with a huge range of natural remedies which he assured would help me with energy levels and recovery! Jonah arrived when the weather was horrendous and he ploughed on regardless and kept me going on a difficult day of walking.

Nicky joined me on the last day and in her usual optimistic and energetic way kept me going when I was really struggling with my foot. I also would like to thank her husband, Greg, and children, Alice and Sam, for giving up a day of their holidays to help support us.


Oli.

50 miler

Last Saturday (June 27th) I reached the 50 mile mark for the first time in my training. Having started off with 15 mile walks/jogs, I have worked my way up to 20, 25, 30, 40 and now 50 miles in a day. Nicky, who is joining me at the end of July for the 3rd day of the challenge, and I set off from Salisbury at 6am and walked/jogged the Clarendon Way to Winchester and back. We made the most of the cool conditions in the morning and covered the first 25 miles in 5 and a half hours. We were slower in the heat on the way back, but were very pleased with our overall time of 11 hours and 45 minutes for the 50 miles.

With 2 weekends of training left, the challenge is getting ever closer. It was great to get a 50 miler under my belt and, apart from bad blisters, my legs felt good at the end of it. The thought of doing another 16 miles on top of the 50 (as I will be doing on the first day), and on more challenging terrain, makes me realise even more how difficult my task is. I'm also hoping that at the end of July it won't be as hot as it has been recently!

Next weekend I'm going to head down to the Purbecks for some hill training and the weekend after that I aim to do 80 miles over the 2 days.

Energy supplies

I have recently been in touch with a local energy bar company, Mule Bar, to see if they could kindly donate some of their products to help me with my challenge. This afternoon I went over to their offices and was very generously given some of their bars which I am sure will help hugely in the summer.

Have a look on their website to see the different products they offer and also some of the people who use their products and the challenges they are taking on.

http://www.mulebar.com/

Training on Offa's Dyke

Three days training on Offa's Dyke and I now know just how tough the challenge will be in the summer. If after this I have a sore knee and ankle, I dread to think what state my legs will be in after 177 miles! It was also really good to get an idea of what awaits me in July and also to sort out places to sleep (not that I'll be doing much of that!) and to refuel with water and food.

Early on Monday morning I set off from Prestatyn and headed inland for 20 miles. The path is very much up-and-down over this section and it was good to get an idea of the pace I need to walk/jog at. Quite often I slogged up the hills and then jogged down them to make up the time. The weather was stunning which made the views incredible, but at the same time made it hard work as the temperatures rose.

If the heatwave we're predicted for the summer appears then it will make the challenge even more difficult! 40 miles completed, I drove down to Welshpool in mid-Wales for a few hours sleep.

I started the 2nd day of training from the point where I'll be setting off for the 2nd day of the challenge in the summer. After about 2 miles of relatively flat terrain, the path the heads straight up a very steep hill. Not so much fun at half 5 in the morning, but at the least the views were worth it! Again I walked out for 20 miles and actually this part of the path is not too demanding. As with the first day, when I reached the 20 mile mark, I turned back on myself and headed back to my starting point from where I then drove to Hay-on-Wye.

On the 3rd morning my luck with the weather ran out and I was woken by heavy rain hammering down on my tent! The start of this section is probably the most challenging on the whole route as it takes in the Black Mountains and the climb up to Hay Bluff (677 metres) is tough when your legs are aching. The weather meant that any views from the top were non-existant as the clouds had descended and visibility was about 30 metres at best. I walked for about 15 miles and then turned back again down to Hay-on-Wye where the festival was in full swing.

The next 2 months are going to be really busy with training. The three days on the path have given me a good idea of what I need to do now - plenty of hill training and also increase my walks to 50 and then to 60 miles in a day.

Seeing what it was like on the path has made me even more determined to succeed with this challenge, although I now know that if I am do this it will be stretch me to the absolute limit both physically and mentally. It's a good job that I'll have the whole of the summer holidays to recover and relax!

Again, thank you to all of you who have donated money to this cause. The donations make me more driven to succeed and I really appreciate your generosity.

Oli.

Challenge update

It's been quite awhile since I last posted on the blog and a lot has changed with the challenge. Back in February, Sholto broke a bone in his foot whilst out on a run. At first it seemed that he would be still be able to do the walk, but unfortunately the operation he had was not a success and he has now had to pull out of the challenge. This is extremely disappointing as the walk was the 'brainchild' of Sholto's and something he had wanted to do for awhile. He has though very kindly agreed to be my back-up for the event and support me over the weekend at the end of July.

After I realised Sholto wasn't able to do the challenge, I was then faced with the prospect of doing the challenge on my own. This was not something I wanted to do as I think it would make the challenge considerably more difficult without having someone to push me on. Thankfully, Nicky, a colleague at work and a very dedicated long-distance runner, has (foolishly?!) agreed to join me for the last day. Any takers for 60 miles on day two???

In April, Sholto and I went to Iceland for 8 days. Originally the trip was planned so that we could do some training. Obviously, Sholto was not able to do this and instead resorted to 'extreme crutching', which was very impressive as he 'crutched' his way to the top of a few waterfalls. I was able to put in some good hill training and in the process see a lot of incredible places in an amazing country.

Training at the moment is going very well. I'm gradually building up the distances I'm walking/jogging each weekend. I'm up to 30 miles now and over half-term I'll be going up to Offa's Dyke to put in 40 miles of training a day for 3 days as well as a 20 mile walk/jog on the 4th day. It will also be a good opportunity to sort out some of the logistics of the challenge, such as meeting points to 'refuel' and stopping points at the end of the first 2 days.

I think that's all for now and I will try to update the site more frequently from now until the challenge.

If you visit this site, we would really appreciate any contributions to our charity 'for dementia'. Just click on the 'justgiving' part and follow the steps. If you have already donated, thank you very much! It's greatly appreciated.

Cheers,

Oli.

Dementia news from the BBC website today:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/health/7865494.stm

Demetia: Facts and figures:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/health/6389977.stm
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/health/7846930.stm

Oli & Sholto

Welcome to our Offa's Dyke Challenge website!

On July 25th 2009 we will set off from Prestatyn in North Wales and in 72 hours or less, hope to arrive at Sedbury Cliffs, near Chepstow, at the other end of Offa’s Dyke. We will run, jog, walk and crawl, if necessary, along this old border between England and Wales. The route is 177 miles long and the terrain we will face is particularly challenging, especially when the route takes in parts of the Black Mountains and the Brecon Beacons. To attempt this in just 3 days will stretch us to our absolute limits, both physically and mentally.

So why have we decided to take on this challenge?

We both have a history of dementia sufferers in our families and we want to raise money and awareness for this cause. Our chosen charity, For Dementia, aims to improve the quality of life for people affected by dementia. They provide high quality training for Admiral nurses who care for those who suffer from dementia (please click on the link on our home page to find out more about For Dementia).

Unfortunately, the number of dementia sufferers is increasing and recently it has started to gain more exposure in the national media. There is no cure for dementia and as the disease progresses, sufferers require more and more care. We feel very strongly about supporting a charity that does so much to support those who help sufferers.

When we started to discuss ideas for a fundraising event, we both agreed that we wanted to do something extremely challenging that would really justify people giving money to our chosen cause. We’re sure that all the hours of hard training (and the blisters and sore joints!) and the gruelling event itself, will be worth it as we aim to raise £10,000 for the charity. We’re setting our sights very high, but we feel that it is for a very worthwhile cause.

The link to our justgiving page is on our homepage. Please give whatever you can – it will be very much appreciated.

We will update the website as regularly as we can to let you know about any events and how our training is going. Also, please feel free to post any messages - your support and/or advice will be greatly welcomed.

Many thanks,

Oli and Sholto.