All I can say is wow. That is one hilly route that pushes you to the max. I set off on my journey at 4:45 am Saturday morning to get my coach to the start line. I got to the start line, registered, and then went to get ready to start the walk at 7:45 am. We were called to the start pen, had photos, and a safety briefing. We left bang on 8 am. At the start, it was a lovely day, very warm, and everyone was in good spirits. At about 6 km in, the rain arrived and on the heavy side. I got to the first rest stop, changed my socks, and had a snack, then carried on heading to the second rest stop. The ground was wet and very slippery on foot in places, but the focus was to try and not fall over and get to the second rest stop safely.
I arrived at the second rest stop feeling good, and the sun was out, which was a bonus. I had a picnic lunch and a little rest, again changed my socks, then headed off to rest stop 3, which is towards Lulworth. This was a very challenging section of the event. As soon as you come out of the rest stop, there is a huge hill, then one massive hill as you enter Lulworth. This hill isn’t for the faint-hearted; it is very steep and almost vertical to climb up, and then the same coming back down. I got to rest stop 3 feeling good again, just needed to get my energy levels back up. What better than a bag of pick and mix? I made a joke with the person working for Action Challenge that if I bought this size of pick and mix at the cinema, it would cost me a mortgage.
Then I went to get prepared for what I would say is the biggest part of the event: Lulworth to Weymouth. At this point, people are dropping out all the time, but I was just focused on getting to 58 km (rest stop) halfway as quickly as I could. I set off from the 42 km rest stop, took some pics of Durdle Door as I walked past, then the toughest part of the route, in my opinion, was ahead of me: a hill that made me think, "OMG, it was massive." I managed to climb that, then looked ahead of me, and there was another bigger than the other two before. At this point, it was all about just getting it done. As I was climbing this, to top it off, we had a thunderstorm, and the rain began to fall once again really heavy. As the ground got slippery, yes, it happened—I slipped on my backside then got back up. At this point, taking it easy is vital as you don’t want any injuries, and also the ground was very muddy.
Then we descended into Weymouth where the halfway mark was in sight. As I got to Weymouth, I was greeted by Sacha, Andy, Jodie, and Lauren, who were very supportive. I got food (chilli—did think if this was a good idea), and I had a change of clothes waiting, which was more welcome than anything. I had my feet sorted by Andy (Founder of VIM Fundraising) as they were very wet and struggling a little so vaseline, powder and plasters were needed. As I was sitting there watching people cross the halfway line, watching everyone limp over the line, I’d say 99.9% did, except one person who ran over the line, which was really unbelievable.
As I was getting ready to leave, we had to leave in groups as it was night-time walking. I got paired with two lovely people, Tom and Tess. Tom had done this event before, and Tess was attempting it for her first-ever challenge. These guys were incredible people. We left Weymouth for the short walk to our next rest stop at 66 km, just getting to know each other. When we arrived at rest stop 5, which is 66 km, we had a little break, a drink of coffee, and a Freddo x4, lol. We left knowing it was 16 km to the next rest stop, so we took fruit and, again, Freddos with us. As a group walking in the night, we got on really well. The group got bigger as we bumped into a lady, Caroline, and she joined us. We took it easy as we knew there was still a long way to go.
After a tough walk to 82 km, the next rest stop, we descended down a hill and came into the rest stop where I had a bacon sandwich and a coffee, which went down well. I changed my socks, and as a group, we just rallied together for the next part. We left 82 km and headed to Chesil Beach. This part is so hard: 4 km walking on pebbles after your feet are already hurting. We got to the end of that, thank God, and walked the short walk from there over to a village called Bradstock where, at 95 km, our rest stop was. We only spent 5 minutes here as a group; we decided to just get to the finish. We left there and walked over the ridgeway to Weymouth where the finish line was, and I was so happy to see it.
Can I just say a massive thank you to Vim Fundraising for sponsoring me and my partner Sacha, Andy, Lauren, and Jodie for the incredible support you gave. Also to Tom and Tessa—they were amazing. My next challenge is not known yet; I am undecided between the Thames Path or the South West Coast. Just to say, these events are tough, but with training, they can be achieved. My feet feel like they are about to fall off, and I think I need a new pair of legs, but it was well worth it.
Many thanks, My finishing time was 26 hours 14 minutes 52 seconds. And the Freddos were amazing. Francis Leaver
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