Macmillan Mighty Hike
So the day had arrived, the day I had been training so hard for pfft.... in reality I had managed one 12 mile walk over the Peaks about 4 weeks prior and my weekly half hour swimming lesson. Hardly the dedication needed to battle 26 miles of Peak District terrain.
The weather today, oh joy! Rain, rain, with an extra topping of rain. I best remember my waterproof jacket!
Oops.... Good start Kelvin! The jacket I was about to put on I remembered was still hanging off the back of the dining room chair. Well at least I hadn't just got a tee-shirt on.
I was about an hour early for my wave, so I took the opportunity to take in my surroundings and watch the waves prior to me get called into the start arena for their warm up. Zumba! It was fun watching a load of people, some with no rhythm but not giving a monkeys was refreshing and you could not help feel the energy and get the sense this was going to be a special day.
So, two waves had gone since I had arrived and then we get our call up. Now anyone that knows me will know what I did next. Zumba or anything that requires a sense of rhythm I avoid like the plague, so yes, I skulked off to the back and did my own warm up out of sight.
About to begin
The warmup lasted about 20 minutes and was now over and off we went. Being on my own I had already decided that today I wanted to challenge myself so I power- walked my way to the front of the wave as quickly as I could to avoid any congestion.
At the front I found a small group already chatting amongst themselves one of whom was an amazing 79-year-old lady who had not started exercising until she retired at 65 and now was an avid runner / hiker and who had completed marathons. Alongside her was her son also a regular hiker and another lady who was here to finish in the quickest time possible. I knew at this point that this would be a great group to pace with if I wanted a challenge.
The first 5 miles flew pretty quickly and fast paced, it seemed getting to know my newfound hiking buddies really made the time go by and we were knocking down the miles.
Checkpoint 1
At 7.2 miles according to their calculation (that's another story) and just 29 seconds over 2 hours we arrived at the first pitstop. At this point myself and 'R' had pulled away from the others and had decided we were happy with our progress and would have a short break as to not lose momentum. Unbeknown to me at this point I was in the top 70 out of nearly 2200. After a quick toilet break and some pineapple slices, we grabbed some snacks provided by the wonderful organisers and off we went.
We continued the decent pace for the next 7.4 miles, carried on chatting between ourselves and others as we passed, learning step by step that we were quite a competative duo. This along with seeing us pass others from previous waves and munching on skittles took us through to lunch.
Lunch
At this point hunger was not an issue, we just wanted a coffee and run. Luckily at the lunch stop (which was super crowded) they had a poncho giveaway as during the previous couple of miles the mild weather had turned to downpour and being just in a base layer and my charity tee shirt this was a welcome addition to my attire.
Onwards......
By now the rain was lashing down and was not as welcomed as the earlier drizzle which took the edge off the muggy weather. Legs were wet and rubbing together with every step and the blisters on my feet I knew had been there for a while were gradually getting worse. I knew pitstop 2 would have to be a longer break already while I attended to these pains. We were struggling but not to the point of giving up, afterall the next stop was only 4.5 miles away, so we soldiered on!
The rain really coming down now, the conversation less and less, determination was paramount! Ahhhhhhh
Checkpoint 2
MEDIC NOW!!!! I made a beeline for the medical tent, boots and socks came off. Ouch... The blisters were worse than I thought and were fully across both heels. Blister plasters on, new socks on and time to tackle the last 7.8 miles. By this point I had chosen to ignore the official miles as I already knew we had done more than what they were saying as I and several people I had chatted to had already registered on their tracking devices that is was over a mile more we had trekked so far!
I had already today walked more than I had ever before, and I had not had to use my hiking poles to this point. With my slightly dodgy left knee this really suprised me as I thought I would be using them in some sort of support long before this point. I was so pleased that my old injury had not reared its ugly head.... yet!
So now this was the toughest stint plain and simple. I was struggling, I had not had enough practice or training. The legs were like jelly, the blister plasters were failing miserably, and I was in agony. 'R' was steaming ahead; I would rush to catchup and then repeat back she marched on. We were both wet and tired and all we wanted to do was to cross that line.
4 miles to go and I finally gave up the ghost of finishing alongside her, she was super focused now and was pulling away. My feet are just too sore to keep up with her pace. Maybe if I had strapped my feet up better from the start it may have been a different story, but you live and learn and I should have been more prepared. She slowly goes out of site........
I am on my own now! Do I give up? Hell no!
I get my second wind and begin to ramp up the pace, every step now feels like I am walking on hot coals, but I am powering on through. Then disaster!!! I slip on a rock I had not seen, knee jarred and yes! it was my left one. I get back up and weight bear on it and it gives way a little.
Three and a half miles left! How can this happen now? My pace has been so good and the will to keep pushing has been there but now I suffer this damning blow. I pull my hiking poles from my bag and adjust the height to suit. I have now given up any chance of catching my companion of the last 20 odd miles, but I decide I am not giving up on finishing this challenge.
I have never used hiking poles before and certainly not as makeshift crutches so I dare you to try it for a little while and you can feel the pain I suffered over the remaining miles. This was possibly the hardest thing I have ever had to do. The organisers I have praised so far, well they certainly know how to put on a challenge. In the last few miles when you are zapped of any energy injured or not the last thing you want to see are the size of the two hills waiting for us to descend. They were massive and one of them was on road, so I had nowhere for the poles to locate on each step.
Two miles to go and my 79-year-old friend and her son have caught me up and after a brief chat about what had happened surrounding my injury they give me words of encouragement to continue and they pass and venture on with their hike. So many others are passing and spur me on with kind words and some ask if they can help.
I struggle on, aching all across my shoulders and upper arms due to the pressure of carrying my body. The 1 mile to go maker which would have been welcomed a few miles back now holds little joy for me. I really do not think I can continue, stopping every now and again for a break, I see more and more people pass me with big smiles as they know their enduring journey will soon be coming to a close.
It's there! I see it in the distance, I hear the tannoys, a sense of joy comes over me as I am so close. I came around the corner of the final stretch and scores of people are their cheering and willing on all who appear. I have to stop; my arms are just too tired. I lose my footing slightly and I see two ladies walking towards me from the finish line area. One of them with her distinctive lack of hair says to me " Thank you" and they both help me walk onwards. She tells me she had gone through chemo two days before and this would be the furthest she had walked to help me over the line since.
I hear over the tannoy "And now crossing the line Kelvin Wood number 2533" and a huge round of applause follows. I thank the two ladies and give them a hug and it's on to the finishing photo and a glass of bubbly. 'R' had already left as her lift had met her at the finish some time before, but my other two friends saw me and came up to congratulate my finish before pointing me in the direction of the much needed medical tent.
After a brief icing I decided to miss the amazing dinner spread put on by the organisers and instead head to the coach to get myself back home after my long hard day.
So, after all that and despite the last three and a half gruelling miles I still managed to finish 207th out of 2178 entrants in a time just under the nine and a half hour mark, not bad for my 40th birthday eh?
As you can see from my last section I was well off the pace because of injury
But it was not about that, as much as I enjoy the kudos. The day was about cancer support and raising money for this fabulous charity. I have my reasons I chose this event; this charity and I thank everyone who has supported and sponsored me so far.
What will I remember most from this wonderful day?
Two words. "Thank you"
Peace
Kelvin
If you wish to donate please click the image to go through to my just giving page, many thanks.
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