Done and
dusted are word I would never use for an Oxfam Trailwalker!
It is never
done and dusted, the high lasts for a year!
Yes, I did
want to do my second Oxfam Trailwaker in January 2015.
And so, I identified a group at work with great
difficulty, signed up just before the last date and then did nothing!
We neither
raised funds, nor trained.
This went on
till I had other commitments which clashed with the day the Trailwalker was to
end.
And the
inevitable irregular schedule I was on was giving me jitters.
And so I did
the unthinkable and backed out!
Not before I had
found replacement walkers for me and another co walker who had to back out due
to official travel plans which came up suddenly.
I was upset,
a bit, but then life goes on.
Then when yet
another walker had to cancel, I stepped in.
And took
charge.
I knew it was
not going to be easy, but it was not impossible.
A month away from
the walk and just few days away from the minimum fund raising deadline, our
priority was fund raising ,
Which we did
in absolute earnest.
In 48 hours
we had raised the funds.
Next came
training.
Having done Oxfam
Trailwalker in 2014, I did have some idea about how difficult it would be if we
hit the trails with no training.
So a training
plan was drawn for walking/ core training/ cross training.
This we had
to follow if we wanted to stay injury free on the trail.
One day of
walking followed. A 12 hour , 40 km walk in the park.
It was painful
yet fun.
An eye opener
of sorts.
We slowly got
ready with our lists and to dos for the D day.
Just because
I had one successful (if I could call a 30 hr walk that) experience, did not
lessen the fear and excitement for me!
We planned
our support crews, read the maps, made our walking plans and were almost ready.
Excited,
fearful, geared up.
We had
friends pick us up very early morning and off we went. It was somewhere very
far from the city and we had estimated a 2 hour drive.
Of course the
bags I packed looked like I was planning
to take off on a long holiday
Constant reminders
to fellow walkers about basic essentials to be brought along
Bottles
Caps
Jackets
Sun glasses
Spare shoes
and socks
Spare clothes
And reminders
to cut your toe nails!!
Everything else
was C/o Me
Reached the
start point just in time to get our bibs on and take a picture and leave.
Dark,
crowded, noisy!
We started
off and did it with a good pace. The
first 8.8 kms were not easy, it had us sweating and pushing ourselves to climb
the inclines and cross the stony roads.
Reaching Check
point 1 was bliss- knowing we had our breakfast there and our support crew
waiting there!
We did see
Rahul Bose busy taking pictures with walkers, in half a mind- should or should
not.
Should not
prevailed. Then!
Quick breakfast,
which was not appetizing and away we went.
The next
check point was a short one as well- we did not reduce our pace and kept at it.
By this time,
we had seen a lovely sun rise as well felt the heat of the sun beating upon us.
We stopped
briefly to refill our bottles, rest our aching feet and tape a bit and leave.
The next
stretch was a killer,
This is when
one of our walker’s shoes gave in! he was wearing old shoes and they just
broke. We were in a fix, since he did
not have spare shoes to serve the purpose either.
Luckily another
walker had a pair which fit him and we could continue our walk.
We trudged
on, never losing our enthusiasm, crossing fields, villages, lakes, dams, mulberry bushes.
The sun set
was beautiful over the wide open fields, the night time was even more lovely as
dusk settled down.
We kept our
morale high, and munched on chips to keep our hunger at bay.
The setting
sun was cause for joy.
We could now
walk in the quiet of the night, with cooler temperatures.
Well prepared
to spend the night walking, we had small hand torches with us.
After a quick
break and meeting our support crew for the night, we left after a very bad and
tasteless dinner.
Little did we
expect that our night walk would be so difficult
We walked on
roads strewn with stones, had an elephant scare and had to change a route.
The lantern
we carried kept our path brightly lit.
Our jackets
kept us warm and we kept our pace.
Never stopping,
never giving up.
Our short
night breaks were to retape,refill and restart.
The skies
were filled with stars, the silence of the night so welcoming.
The early
morning walk was such a pleasure and to see sunrise over the hills was indeed a
blessing.
We stopped
for a cup of sweet fresh tea at a local home and were happy that we had about
20 kms to go.
Too early for
breakfast, we continued after a bit of freshening up and few biscuits.
We carried a
few oranges with us to help us on the way.
Knowing we
were almost there was such a happy
thought.
Knowing we
were still fine was so comforting.
Knowing we
were beating our schedule by 1 hour was encouraging.
Since we were
so close to the end, we decided not to stop at the last check point, skip breakfast but just
rush in and rush out.
We had
decided to run the last 5 kms to the finish.
Little did we
know that our organisers had other plans in mind.
Passing through
quarries in the heat of the day, rugged roads, inclined rocks, slowly tiring
legs , yet we never lost our spirit.
Still smiling,
still joking, we kept our pace.
Reached the
temple which was such a pleasure, cool, beautiful, a check point last year- but
a much needed rest point this year.
Not one to
let them sit for long, forced ourselves to start moving again.
We walked, we
ran, we sipped, we stopped.
We laughed,
we shouted.
Helped people
on the way with surgical tapes, muscle relaxants, sprays, kind words, we had it
all!
The last 2
kms were the happiest, but most confusing.
We did not
see a 99 Km mark and were worried we could have been off the trail, but knew we
could see the “never failed us before” markers.
We continued,
running, walking, hearing first.
Seeing next.
And we ran,
towards the gate, towards the entry point and finished strong, smiling.
No we did not
collapse!!
29 hours and
36 minutes! Of pure pleasure and fun!
To me, a humbling
moment.
Nature rules
you, however in control you may be.
I felt a satisfaction, knowing the 100 kms was for a
cause.
I, as an
individual may not be able to reach out to so many in need,
but what I love
doing and could do with a bit of struggle, could help reach out to so many
more!
Our support
crew was amazing, they knew what we wanted, kept our spirits high and were
there to greet us whatever time of day or night we reached.
Seeing friends
passing through gave me more reason to smile, a familiar face in strange lands
in difficult times is always comforting.
The lovely
volunteers managing the check points were there to cheer us as we entered and
cheer us on as we left for the next leg.
Their energy
levels revved us up.
Seeing the
organisers at the finish point, being greeted by them and having them share our
joys- true happiness.
Every one
here is a winner.
Thank you
Oxfam for this wonderful opportunity.
Looking forward
to my next!!!
