Gerry takes on a new challenge.
A report from Gerry on the Caledonian Challenge on Saturday, 17 June 2006.
“Been there, seen it, done it and got the tee-shirt” says Gerry about the Caledonian Challenge.
Around the New Year friends of mine asked me if I would help come up with a training plan to help them take part in the Caledonian Challenge, an annual walking / charity event that takes place during the summer close to the longest day of the year.
The Challenge is to walk 54 miles of the West Highland Way, from Fort William to Ardlui in 24 hours. Between 1,000 and 1,500 people participate and teams must have at least 3 participating and up to 6. As if walking 54 miles in a day wasn't difficult enough, entry costs £100 and each person should aim to raise £500 for the Scottish Community Foundation charity, a worthy cause, see www.caledonianchallenge.com for more details.
In a moment of weakness, and probably drink helped here too, I said that I’d be happy to help with the training and also to take part. Those who know me know this was a major break from my norm. Usually resisting any challenge that goes over the half marathon mark, that is one and a half hours of exercise, is quite enough for me thank you.
So here we stood, our team called ‘Gerry and the Pacemakers’ (my friends May, Julie, Elliott and Danny and me), early on Saturday morn, 17 June, at the starting line a couple of miles from Fort William on the route of the West Highland Way. Like the 300 or so who stood around us we were wrapped in our waterproofs and midge nets over our heads to keep away one of the worst things to inflict the highlands of Scotland, those dreaded little beasties the 'midges'. Loudspeakers announced that we would be getting underway at 7 AM and told us to take care, watch out for our midge enemies (females only apparently - but does it really matter whether you have 1,000 or 2,000 of the wee blighters to deal with) and ticks too that could inflict damage on the unsuspecting walker. I'm really not selling it well but I am stating the facts.
The first stage goes to Kinlochleven, the early part being a testing and fairly long uphill stretch taking you through forests and, on a good day, a great view backwards to Ben Nevis and other surrounding hills. Our view was restricted due to the mist and clouds. I enjoyed this part of the walk, surrounded by like minded people, feeling fresh and aware that there was a long day ahead. There was a downward slope into Kinlochleven and at the end of this stage we were greeted by our support team, David, Jonts, Lainie and Andy, who had prepared a 'late' breakfast for us of porridge with a variety of toppings.
Having taken part in four training walks with our support team to help us and fine tune our needs and processes they knew exactly what to do for us: have our food ready to eat as we arrived; fill our water bottles and ensure we were carrying a few light snacks as well as laying out a change of socks and other clothing should we feel the need to change. Organisers recommend you change socks at each stage, so five pairs of socks in total. I heeded their advice, as did others in my team, and it worked.
Our next stage took us to Glencoe. The weather was improving, a little blue sky and a fair amount of heat bringing with it the usual army of midges - this ensured that any stop we made would be brief as otherwise we were presenting our dreaded enemy with a free lunch. The early part of this section was a tough uphill stretch past the water pipes of the former aluminium smelter. There were further uphill stretches before reaching the Devils Staircase and downwards towards the Kingshouse Hotel and to our second stopping point at the Glencoe Ski Centre. We had walked 24 miles now, getting there after 4 PM.
We had worked out two timetables, one if we were progressing very well and the other if we were going surely but steadily. Both would ensure we reached the finish within 24 hours. We were close to the latter timetable and had to be careful not to slip. It was becoming important for us to keep an eye on our watches and maintain a good pace.
Refreshed by soup, sandwiches, tea and coffee, and a variety of sweets made by our support team, and now with an extended support team with friends Brian and Jayne onboard to assist, we set off again more aware of the need to make good progress in the next eight mile stage to Inverroran. The ground was much flatter, a few minor undulations but our progress was good and we were passing people along the way. Our spirits were lifting and we reached the stopping point where the organisers had put on a decent spread of food, juice, coffee and a massage, if you wanted, to help with stage 4, to Auchtertyre. We all took a fair dose of food but, although tempting to get a massage, we avoided it as this would simply slow our progress so we moved on.
In the past few hours the weather had been pleasant and fairly bright allowing us to walk in light clothing. It was now past 8 PM and on our way from Inverroran, up a decent hill, the rain came on, not too heavy but enough to ensure we put our waterproof clothing on again. Midges don't care about light rain as they continued to harass us when we would stop. This was a long stretch that would take us to the 42 mile point, a distance new to us, 2 miles longer than our longest training walk. Still we seemed in good spirits and for a couple of miles, Jonts and Lainie appeared as if from nowhere to join us before darkness set in.
Strange that when darkness arrived, 10:30 ish, the decent path we'd been walking along ended and the rain came on once again. We put on our head torches and headed up a short stony hill before reaching a longish, flatish stretch. One thing that did strike me in the dark was the large number of people who were walking with us, all with head torches shining brightly to help navigate the route. On some stretches it appeared that our fellow walkers had disappeared and that we were on our own and then suddenly, as in the darkness, we would find ourselves surrounded by people.
I found the last mile of this section quite funny with large numbers of walkers trudging along beside us separating our team. It was like the good old days, walking to the carnival or a firework display with the lights coming from the vans et al that were being used by the support vehicles. I felt there must be a party going. I'd guess that there must have been at least 200 vehicles parked at the Auchtertyre stopping point. We reached here after 1 AM.
We were fed more porridge, I really do like it and recommend it two or so hours before any race or run or walk, it sustains you for such a long time and it doesn't give me a stitch. We were also given bacon rolls, pure magic, with a range of refreshments and services that our outstanding support team provided. We, the walkers, were hugely grateful to all our support team. If there was a prize going for best support I really don't feel ours could be surpassed, but there wasn't so there. We got good news here that we were ahead of schedule 'B', the slower timetable.
Around 1:30 AM we headed off for the final stage to Ardlui, a punishing 12 mile walk. The early part was a severe uphill stretch in the dark through a forest, or at least I'm pretty sure it was tree lined - difficult to tell with a midge net over your head + head torch + tiredness. And yes, the midges do come out to greet you in the dark. The only thing that appears to deter them is wind - even the recommended midge repellent 'Skin so soft' has limited impact.
Around 3:30 AM light began to appear in the sky and despite being tired at this point, it's still rather nice to see morning dawn. We reached 7.5 miles to go, an organised drinks station offering soup, tea and coffee, and soft drinks. Organisers said it was fairly flat from here on - brilliant, as we all just wanted to get over the finishing line and find a place to sit down for a while and rest weary limbs. The next four of five miles were just as the organisers told us, flat, a little boring but no one cared at this stage. We'd long since stopped talking, really who cares what's happening in the World Cup, Big Brother or whatever after you have been walking for 20+ hours, these thing can wait. Talking simply used up energy we didn't have.
So with just over two miles to go we hit an unexpected hill, in fact it seemed like climbing a mountain though with a decent path to walk on, but certainly not what we were expecting or wanted at this point. I guess that under our breath each one of us was uttering a constant string of four letter words. I certainly was as each time I thought we had reached the highest point I was hugely disappointed when the path would take one more twist upwards. What a dejected bunch we must have looked!
Finally we began a decent, and over the brow of a hill we could see a large tent beside which was the finishing line. It was 6:20 AM, a few minutes more walking and we'd be there. There was no sign of our celebrating yet, just keep on going til the line. Finally, around 6:30, I didn't check my watch as I couldn't be bothered, we all crossed the finishing line. Jubilation and celebration - NO, just pure relief and a shake of hands, cuddle, a "well done" and "Thank ____ it's over".
At the end we assembled with others in a tent awaiting the final boat trip to cross to the opposite side of Loch Lomond. Unfortunately there were too few dinghies to cater for walkers so we had to wait around three-quarters of an hour to cross. On the other side we were greeted to a tremendous welcome from various support teams, organisers and others who had finished before us as well as receiving a gold medal for our efforts. There, at 7:30 AM, we were treated to champagne, beer and odd snacks before heading off to tents for a few hours of well needed sleep.
In summary and looking back on the event, this really was a major challenge for me and the team. I didn't fully appreciate when I signed up for the 54 mile walk how much effort and time I would need to put into preparing for the event. My team agree. It's been a good team building event we've probably learned quite a lot about ourselves, with a much better appreciation of the importance of the role of a support team. Would I do it again? Well, never say never, but I am having a break for the summer and may give it some thought once batteries are recharged. Now I can concentrate on the shorter, faster stuff.
Report Gerry Scullion
photos Gerry and the Pacemakers
