23rd – 24 May 2020
Being in lockdown, due to Covid-19, has made me very aware of how fortunate I am! I have a home with a large garden; food on my table every day; and to top this off, I have been working from home throughout!
I have become very aware that not everyone shares this fortune and for this reason I felt a burning need to play my part during this crisis. The word ‘Crisis’ seemed appropriate as this is the charity that I chose to walk for 24 hours for.
After deciding on the challenge and the charity I wanted to walk for, I spent the next 5 days staring at OS Maps plotting a rough route, which started at my home in Essex and took me north into Suffolk and Norfolk. With no experience of very long distance walking like this, I wasn’t entirely sure how far I could get; so I pencilled in a 120km route which meandered along rivers; took me sight-seeing through towns; and allowed me to talk to some cows.
Having only allowed myself 6 days to organise this challenge, I immediately set to work recruiting a support crew (thank you to my husband, brother and brother in law in particular); working out convenient check points; and preparing lots(!) of food – I roughly worked on the basis of trying to see the support car every 4 hours for the least amount of time possible, so needed a bundle of food bags, stuffed to the brim with calories, ready to pick up and go at each checkpoint.
Following a day of preparation, a short nap and a large bowl of pasta I started walking at 8pm so that I would get the ‘night-leg’ out of the way first. Doing the walk in late May meant it was going to be fully dark between around 10pm-3am and I felt this was going to be the toughest part mentally; I also liked the idea of finishing, getting home and going straight to bed!
It also turns out that I have some amazing friends, because after telling them of my plans a few hands shot up in the air to join me for ‘legs’ of the journey. My dog also had no choice but to join me at stages along the way, which he loved of course. Having the additional company, intermittently over the 24hrs, helped to keep me entertained and my mind off the remaining slog ahead. My mum and dad got the bum deal having to walk the last two hours along a sandy, uneven byway – my hip flexors by this point were knackered and my little toe nails felt like they were being ripped off with every step.
Every enjoyable step (and even the painful ones) were worth it for such an important cause and I somehow managed to navigate myself 113.7km (70.6 miles) away from my house, while also raising over £2,000 for Crisis.
I was so overwhelmed and emotional when my husband announced that I could “stop walking” at 8pm!
Some Feeding Top Tips!
I am very into my sport and I always try to understand the best food to fuel any adventure, but as this was my first 24hr walkathon I didn’t really know where to start and I struggled to find information online about how much food and what food in particular would be suitable.
In the end I went with my instincts (plus some guidance from my experienced brother) and it worked out perfectly. I’ve listed a few suggestions below:
Plenty to drink – I always carried at least 1.5 litres of water from each check-point and continually sipped while walking. Later on in the walk I included isotonic sachets, tea and hot chocolate.
Plenty of Variety – Trying to continuously eat for 24 hours is a challenge in itself, so adding variety including a mix of sweet and savoury was key.
Homemade Goodies – I suffer with IBS so love to prepare my own food so that I know exactly what has gone into it.
Graze – Rather than sitting down to eat big portions ever few hours, I made everything handy snack sizes so I could graze continuously. I’d either have them accessible in my bag or stuffed into my trouser pockets for easy access.
Fuelling After – I love camping and hiking so always have a stash of ration packs to hand, so I asked the support crew to have one ready soon after my walk so I could refuel in the car on the way home.
Food Examples
– Peanut butter and jam sandwiches
– Ham and salad sandwiches
– Crisps
– Belvita breakfast biscuits
– Apples
– Satsumas
– Flapjack
– Soreen malt loaf
– Baby food pouches – I wasn’t a huge fan of these…
– Fruit smoothie pouches
– Sausage rolls
– Bacon/Egg omelette muffins (Hemsley & Hemsley receipe)
– Nut mix
– Cheese
– Pepperoni Sticks
I pre-packed everything into large freezer bags so that my support crew could stuff these into my bag during a checkpoint stop. I could then pick away during the next few hours of walking. Having everything pre-packed is obviously time efficient but it also takes away the stress of one extra thing to think about. Plus it was a nice surprise to rummage around in the bag to see what I’d hidden in there!
Leave No Stone Unturned 