OOOOOUUUUCH!

Yes it's true, I am a muppet!

You plan a run, you tell everyone the details the times and weather, the important check points, collect all the GPS kit, check everything is working, collect your team mate at 6:30 in the morning, prep your food intake the night before [carb up], wake at 5am...then monumentally forget your own trail running shoes!!

This is what I did. I made two errors, [1] check your kit once then walk away for a bit and check it again i.e. do it the night before then check it in the morning. [2] If in pain don't be a stubborn, stop, treat, dry out your feet and crack on. To be fair I did this once but so keen to bag a good time I should have stopped around the 20 mile make and tape up and change socks. I ran in a old pair of North Face trainers - long passed their best with little grip left, little support and half a size too big!

SIX DAYS ON and I am still in a poor shape. I was going to post pictures but they were bad. It's taken 3 days for my left foot to soft bleeding. It's been six days of pain killers, anti-inflammatory pills and disinfecting my feet. The right foot is fine if that's some joy.

I'm wise enough to know what to do and just let 45 mins of madness ruin a weeks worth of training and at the moment quite possibly my chances of running next weekend. Unfortunately with on one else to blame I have to put up with my stupidity.

As the saying goes, "what does not break us, makes us stronger".
-darren

Stumble It!

Bring it on Fernworthy, via Whiteworks to Shipley Bridge

A nice little run.

We had run this before crossing 23 Miles of Dartmoor, taking seven hours twenty seven minutes, we where shattered but please, but this time we where hoping to go a little quicker.

We had an idea that we could run at somewhere close to fourteen minutes a mile bringing us in around six hours. we managed some where close to twelve minute miles.

Running the first part amazingly well actually running at closer to ten minute miles and we hit the fifteen mile mark very early, our navigation was much much stronger familiar ground and better footing (last time we visited the upper parts of the moor we were a foot deep in snow!).

The next few miles were hard and slow, a large plateau between white works and the Two Dartmoor Way is a disconcerting place to navigate, we managed to hit our tick off points and found ourselves getting close to the end. I had a moment of navigating madness where I made the ground fit the map and slowed our progress right down. All in all I think these mistakes cost us about twenty minutes.

Darren was pushing hard but unfortunately he had forgotten his actual trail shoes and had an old pair of trail shoes on [about 2 years old], they held there own until about the last five or so miles where they started to cook Darren's feet, a short break fresh tape and we soldiered onto the end.

We hit the finish mark in five hours twenty minutes smashing two hours seven minutes off our previous timing and we actually increased the distance to twenty five point six five miles. Hitting our pick up point an hour ahead of planned, we sat in the sun looking at Darren's bright red feet.

All in all it was an awesome achievement and a credit to Darren for completeing the distance in the time and in rubbish footwear, although he is now suffering. we're praying to the running gods that his feet are gonna heal and repair before our first coastal race in just under eight days.....

Bryn


Stumble It!

1st race

Our first test is coming up soon. We are entered in the Endurancelife, Cornwall stage race. We'll be competing against runners from all over the UK. It will be good to test the nerves and get some practice and tips.

-Darren

Stumble It!

...move your body!

With an event such as this it's easy to get caught up in the moment and forget the causes, luckily Bryn and myself just want to deliver what we promised £8,848.00 for the charities.

I'm still uncomfortable with having to promote ourselves in the media, it feels odd. The event is the most important thing to me, without the event we'd not be able to raise the funds for our worthy charities.

As the days fall off the calendar, the funds grow and we feel we'll develop a different model of fundraising for the next 3 or 4 years. We have the bug now, I hope we can raise at least £35,000 over the next few years.

We also went on a shot training run this week. We have a lot going on in the next 8 weeks, we have hiking, climbing, running and taking part in running/endurance competitions. So keep coming back, there will be much to update.

-Darren

Stumble It!

Pen Y Fan

We shifted locations to Wales this weekend for a spot of main event training. One of the hills on our challenge is Pen Y Fan, located in the south of Brecon Beacons National Park. It is a popular area and we new getting there early would make sense.



Saturday was one of those odd days, not warm, not cold but a bit damp. We were going to a short horse shoe type route, leaving through a car park and bending around via Cribyn bending around Corn Du and landing us back where we started. At pace and with packs. 10 minutes in I had to take a layer off, it ok having all the kit to keep you warm, but I must remember to allow for my body to settle in when we start running or hiking.



It was a busy day, on all our training so far this was the busiest I'd seen anywhere. Mind you our normal stomping ground in the middle of Dartmoor in the rain and mud, so we we pleasantly surprised and shear numbers of people we passed on the day. We finished the day with a journy of 8 miles in 2 hrs 6 mins, with pleanty of mental notes and digital pictures. We could have gone over the ground faster but we wanted to take it all in, it's a beautiful place.



-Darren

Stumble It!

Time & space

I must have been slightly deluded to think juggling my time between work and UKEC would be easy. This week, I've hit some big deadlines to at work, so training has been walking/jogging in everyday and a few weight sets. We are off to Wales Saturday for some bigger mountains and harsher conditions. We are keen to test out our new OMM main event sacs, new Northface footwear and really test out the GPS.

So until we get back Sat/Sun, wise us luck in the black hills of Wales.

-Darren