Final Practice Walk...

Did anyone else notice that Claire's slipped in a 9.1 miler just to finish us off before we go to China?

Maybe I should reconsider the whole thing :-)

Vaccinations

I've been to see the nurse today and received the DPT jab. I need to return for the Hepatitis A & Typhoid fever. I'm just wondering which jabs you have been recommended and which you are planning to receive?

Christine

Making a difference

I saw this video at a conference recently and found it very inspirational. When you see the number of people who need help, it shows that what we are doing is really valuable and will make a great difference.

Kevin

Gold Star for Paul Simmonds!!

Congratulations to Paul - he gets the Gold Star by being the first trekker to provide his Visa Information!!

Claire

Photos and route from Sunday

The route and (at least some of) the photos from Sunday's walk have been put on the site.

Click here for a shortcut to the map.

You can see a slideshow of the photos here

We still have quite a bit of work to do on the mapping and tracking part of the site, so any ideas on what you'd like to see are welcome.

Ken

Top Tip!!

Me again! Take nappy sacks - apparently we won't be able to flush toilet paper down the hotel toilets - it has to go in a bin so suggestion is put it in fragranced nappy sack to eliminate stinky smells. Has anyone else got any top tips?

Claire

The Great Pole Debate

Several of us have had the discussion - many of us are undecided .... are the suggested poles going to be useful or not. They are another expense and they do get in the way, especially over stiles and therefore presumably when clambering up/down steps!! Well I have now come to a conclusion having consulted with someone who trekked the Wall (same route) in March. Yes - sounds as if they are essential because she found that one pole was "very useful", she said mainly for stability when there was nothing else to hang onto!!! Just thought I'd share that with you.

Claire.

Trailwalker 2007

Well I thought I would try the Blog and tell everyone how Paul, Pete and Martin got on with Trailwalker 2007 on the 14th/15th July.

The day started early with the alarm going off at 3.30am as we had to be at the start before 5.45am for a 6am start time. We were all feeling nervous, as we had decided that we were going to run as much of the 100km (66 mile) route as possible. The profile of the course was extremely hilly and we knew that we would have to walk up the majority of the hills to get to the end and I was glad we had made that decision as early on, the steepness of the hill meant you were almost scrambling up on all fours. We had ten checkpoints to reach and not one of the sections was easy, but with help from anadin extra, deepheat and blister we got through and finished in an amazing time of 18hours and 2 mins, so just after midnight. The average time taken is 25 hours. The sheer determination of the guys needs a special mention as we gritted our teeth through the pain and tiredness and kept our spirits up as each one of us went through highs and lows at different times. We learnt a lot and feel it will help us get through a week of treking in China, which we are now totally focussing on after finishing Trailwalker.

I hope everyones training is going well and remember the more you are suffering now the less you will suffer on the trek. Your legs do recover and look after your feet as they will look after you. All the best to you all. Paul, Pete & Martin

P.S We will not be running in China....

Were the sheep using the same map we were???

Here's one of the photos from the very enjoyable (subjective of course) training walk on Sunday. I think we were unbelievably lucky with the weather hearing stories of the the thunder that hit not far from where we were. Thanks to those who organised the route and the talk beforehand. We'll get the rest of the photos aligned to the map of the route on the website later this week. Stephanie

Summer Fair and Team Walk

Well, we set ourselves the aim on Saturday of beating the £110 we raised at the school fair a few weeks ago and with great work from Joy, Julie, Linz and a couple of her friends, we comfortably achieved it with a great £288. Eventually the weather was kind to us, even if the early morning blustery conditions caused the display boards to keep blowing over.

Yesterday's walk was the toughest to date and great preparation for China. Trish, Tom and Claire did a great job on logistics again. This morning I feel fine, but am reflecting on the need to do more regular training on consecutive days to prepare for China, as there aren't any rest days. The talk by the representatives from the NAS seemed to go well and will hopefully see them more active in the Sussex area in due course.

Last day before holiday today. I'm looking forward to 10 days rest, but will need to ensure I get some training in during that time.Kevin

My first attempt at blogging

I've been looking at the blog site regularly over the last few weeks in the hope that someone would start actively using it - sadly not. I have come to the conclusion that it must be because everyone is too busy raising money and training (unlike me). So, here goes in an effort to get things going...

Joy and I have been working hard over the last few days to get things ready for tomorrow's annual St Lawrence Fair in Hurstpierpoint. It is generally a very well attended event and Linz and Julie will be there helping to sell lots of raffle tickets. I am confident we will raise more than the fantastic £110 we raised at the recent Summer Fair at Newick House. If anyone would like some tickets to sell to go towards their fund raising effort please let me know and I will give you the details.

I've had three days working from home this week which has been a great relief from the normal day stuck on the M25 somewhere between Reigate and Heathrow. I am a judge for an annual IT awards event at work, so have had some good quiet time to review this year's entries. This morning Ken and I reviewed where we are on the technology for the trek and he has identified a company who will provide some really interesting technology for the web site in the next few weeks. He also said he is "optimistic" about us being able to do a live link with Newick House whilst we are in China - I won't forget he said that!

I'm looking forward to hearing from the NAS on Sunday, but am very conscious that Trish has got a "wake up call" planned for the walk afterwards - should be challenging but fun. So, that's my bit for now - anyone else out there want to contribute?????Kevin