Monday, May 02, 2005
Walking 100k in the Bush
Race Facts:
Distance - 100k
Stops - 7 (anywhere from 10k to 16.5k apart) - every team member had to check in together
with the race officials at each checkpoint.
Time - We wanted to finish in 30 hours (one team member had to go to a wedding that night)
Sleeping - not allowed
So, you (as I did) might have a hard time imagining a 100k because most of you don’t think in terms of the metric system: 100k = 62.14 miles. A few examples of common driving routes routes which are 100k:
- Aptos, CA to San Mateo, CA
- Hoboken, NJ to Trenton, NJ
- Philadelphia, PA to Atlantic City, NJ
- Portsmoth, NH to Newton, MA
- Denver, CO to Colorado Springs, CO
- Merced, CA to Clovis, CA
- Candlestick Park, CA to Santa Rosa, CA
... and in Australia - Jells Park to the summit of Mt Donna Buang.
The week leading up to the walk I was filled with many nerves of worry and excitement. Our team did 3 long training walks over various weekends on portions of the trail but none exceeded 26k, so I knew 100k was going to a be a whole different story. My thoughts ranged from, I am am lunatic - to - oh, it's only walking.
We started the walk at 10am on Friday April 1st (unfortunately it was not an April Fools joke) with 418 other teams of 4. The weather was forecasted sunshine all weekend with highs of 80 and lows of 50 at night. A perfect forecast for a hike in the mountains.
The first 35k was a total delight where the WIP'ers engaged in mindless banter among ourselves and with other teams while enjoying the beautiful Australian sunny day. By 7pm we had our first stop with our support crew (Sarah and Michele). They met us with smiles and congratulations then prepared a delicious spaghetti dinner to refuel us for the remaining 65k.
With head lamps on, a full stomach and warm cloths we start our night walking with a 1000 step climb in Upper Fern Tree Gully. The steps are a memorial to the Australia regiment who fought and died in WWII on the Kokoda Trail in Paupa New Guinea. Walking in the dark was exciting at first and I finally felt like I was doing something out of the ordinary. This leg of the walk had the most varying elevation profile - a lot of up and down. We did this on a training walk in the daylight so we were aware of the changes.
The next checkpoint (46.5k completed) was a short one where we simply checked in an out with the race staff and had some hot chocolate and fruit salad from our support crew and were off again for another 11k hike to the next stopping point. It was close to midnight when we departed so sleepiness and sore feet were setting in - but the team was still in good shape and no blisters had popped up. This leg was relatively flat but we were in the heart of the Dandenong ranges, so uneven and narrow paths continued to take a toll on our energy levels because of the high concentration levels. The highlight of this portion was discussing the teams favorite moments from the Australian comedy show "Puppery of the Penis" which was currently being shown at the Melbourne Comedy festival. The hamburger won the top prize.
There was a steep decent into the next check point so all our knees and joints were intimately feeling every step. To our delight at 3am (57.5k completed) we had delicious pumpkin soup, hot beverages, lounge chairs and blakets prepared for us by Sarah and Michele. Everyone changed their socks and laid down under the blankets while slurping the soup. The allure of a power nap was hard to resist and our team motto of 'sleeping is cheating' luckily kept everyone awake.
The next two legs where the most brutal of the entire walk. The 31k long Warburton trail is a monotonously flat, hard gravel track that was formally a railroad line. We walked half of it in the dark and half in the blazing early morning sun (3:30am - 11am). Delirium and exhaustion totally set in and the pain in our legs and feet was unreal. I had never really practiced meditation in my life, but for 3+ hours I semi successfully attempted to meditate the pain away. My team was a huge help in motivating each other to keep on going. I was tearing up and then started to cry for a couple hours and seriously considered dropping out of the walk. Running a marathon, climbing Mt Whitney and driving in rush hour traffic in Manhattan were all a piece of cake compared to this. I felt like I was doing permanent damage to my body - my feet and knees were on fire with pain. However, the rest of WIP was not doing as badly, so with a little encouragement and assurance that our final rest stop was only 20 minutes longer - I conjured up the determination to keep putting one foot in front of the other.
We stumbled into the last check point (88.5k completed and awake for 25 hours) just before 11am and 80 degrees outside. I was a wreck. Simon had a ligament out of place (he didn't discover this until the next day when he went to the physical therapist) causing him terrible hip discomfort. Nick was smiling but drained. Sarah was just exhausted. Our support crew pulled out another great showing - I was treaded to a full leg and foot massage for the 45 minutes. We devoured chicken and pasta salad but team barely spoke, conserving any remaining energy that might be within us. Our thoughts were simply on crossing the evasive finish line.
We were on target to finish in 30 hours, and only had 11.5k to go. This was the most motivating thought I've ever had in my life. The final leg was a accent to the top of Mt Donna Buang. It comprised of a 4k flat trail hike then 7.5k of steep uphill mountain hiking. With walking sticks in both hands, we climbed 1k vertically in a 4k distance at the steepest point. The climb was absolutely beautiful and felt divine on our legs. Different muscles are used to climb uphill than walking on flat track. Mt Donna Buang is in the temperate rain forests of Australia, so we were surrounded by lush forests with ferns and gums densely packed together. Our exhaustion subsided and the beauty of the climb was a welcome distraction. We had done this portion of the trail in a training walk so I knew when the finish was near. As we summited and hiked along the top towards the finish line, I was so overwhelmed with gratefulness that this foolish endeavor was about to be over. We pushed hard at the end and even passed one team 1k before the finish (they were trying to bock us but they just couldn't out do our pace).
At 3:16pm on April 2nd after 29 hours 16 minutes of walking, all 4 members of Walk in Progress crossed the finish line in 170th place (out of 407 teams finishing with at least one person).
Would I ever do it again? No
Would I recommend anyone doing such thing? No (unless you like pain)
Am I glad I did it? Yes
Distance - 100k
Stops - 7 (anywhere from 10k to 16.5k apart) - every team member had to check in together
with the race officials at each checkpoint.
Time - We wanted to finish in 30 hours (one team member had to go to a wedding that night)
Sleeping - not allowed
So, you (as I did) might have a hard time imagining a 100k because most of you don’t think in terms of the metric system: 100k = 62.14 miles. A few examples of common driving routes routes which are 100k:
- Aptos, CA to San Mateo, CA
- Hoboken, NJ to Trenton, NJ
- Philadelphia, PA to Atlantic City, NJ
- Portsmoth, NH to Newton, MA
- Denver, CO to Colorado Springs, CO
- Merced, CA to Clovis, CA
- Candlestick Park, CA to Santa Rosa, CA
... and in Australia - Jells Park to the summit of Mt Donna Buang.
The week leading up to the walk I was filled with many nerves of worry and excitement. Our team did 3 long training walks over various weekends on portions of the trail but none exceeded 26k, so I knew 100k was going to a be a whole different story. My thoughts ranged from, I am am lunatic - to - oh, it's only walking.
We started the walk at 10am on Friday April 1st (unfortunately it was not an April Fools joke) with 418 other teams of 4. The weather was forecasted sunshine all weekend with highs of 80 and lows of 50 at night. A perfect forecast for a hike in the mountains.
The first 35k was a total delight where the WIP'ers engaged in mindless banter among ourselves and with other teams while enjoying the beautiful Australian sunny day. By 7pm we had our first stop with our support crew (Sarah and Michele). They met us with smiles and congratulations then prepared a delicious spaghetti dinner to refuel us for the remaining 65k.
With head lamps on, a full stomach and warm cloths we start our night walking with a 1000 step climb in Upper Fern Tree Gully. The steps are a memorial to the Australia regiment who fought and died in WWII on the Kokoda Trail in Paupa New Guinea. Walking in the dark was exciting at first and I finally felt like I was doing something out of the ordinary. This leg of the walk had the most varying elevation profile - a lot of up and down. We did this on a training walk in the daylight so we were aware of the changes.
The next checkpoint (46.5k completed) was a short one where we simply checked in an out with the race staff and had some hot chocolate and fruit salad from our support crew and were off again for another 11k hike to the next stopping point. It was close to midnight when we departed so sleepiness and sore feet were setting in - but the team was still in good shape and no blisters had popped up. This leg was relatively flat but we were in the heart of the Dandenong ranges, so uneven and narrow paths continued to take a toll on our energy levels because of the high concentration levels. The highlight of this portion was discussing the teams favorite moments from the Australian comedy show "Puppery of the Penis" which was currently being shown at the Melbourne Comedy festival. The hamburger won the top prize.
There was a steep decent into the next check point so all our knees and joints were intimately feeling every step. To our delight at 3am (57.5k completed) we had delicious pumpkin soup, hot beverages, lounge chairs and blakets prepared for us by Sarah and Michele. Everyone changed their socks and laid down under the blankets while slurping the soup. The allure of a power nap was hard to resist and our team motto of 'sleeping is cheating' luckily kept everyone awake.
The next two legs where the most brutal of the entire walk. The 31k long Warburton trail is a monotonously flat, hard gravel track that was formally a railroad line. We walked half of it in the dark and half in the blazing early morning sun (3:30am - 11am). Delirium and exhaustion totally set in and the pain in our legs and feet was unreal. I had never really practiced meditation in my life, but for 3+ hours I semi successfully attempted to meditate the pain away. My team was a huge help in motivating each other to keep on going. I was tearing up and then started to cry for a couple hours and seriously considered dropping out of the walk. Running a marathon, climbing Mt Whitney and driving in rush hour traffic in Manhattan were all a piece of cake compared to this. I felt like I was doing permanent damage to my body - my feet and knees were on fire with pain. However, the rest of WIP was not doing as badly, so with a little encouragement and assurance that our final rest stop was only 20 minutes longer - I conjured up the determination to keep putting one foot in front of the other.
We stumbled into the last check point (88.5k completed and awake for 25 hours) just before 11am and 80 degrees outside. I was a wreck. Simon had a ligament out of place (he didn't discover this until the next day when he went to the physical therapist) causing him terrible hip discomfort. Nick was smiling but drained. Sarah was just exhausted. Our support crew pulled out another great showing - I was treaded to a full leg and foot massage for the 45 minutes. We devoured chicken and pasta salad but team barely spoke, conserving any remaining energy that might be within us. Our thoughts were simply on crossing the evasive finish line.
We were on target to finish in 30 hours, and only had 11.5k to go. This was the most motivating thought I've ever had in my life. The final leg was a accent to the top of Mt Donna Buang. It comprised of a 4k flat trail hike then 7.5k of steep uphill mountain hiking. With walking sticks in both hands, we climbed 1k vertically in a 4k distance at the steepest point. The climb was absolutely beautiful and felt divine on our legs. Different muscles are used to climb uphill than walking on flat track. Mt Donna Buang is in the temperate rain forests of Australia, so we were surrounded by lush forests with ferns and gums densely packed together. Our exhaustion subsided and the beauty of the climb was a welcome distraction. We had done this portion of the trail in a training walk so I knew when the finish was near. As we summited and hiked along the top towards the finish line, I was so overwhelmed with gratefulness that this foolish endeavor was about to be over. We pushed hard at the end and even passed one team 1k before the finish (they were trying to bock us but they just couldn't out do our pace).
At 3:16pm on April 2nd after 29 hours 16 minutes of walking, all 4 members of Walk in Progress crossed the finish line in 170th place (out of 407 teams finishing with at least one person).
Would I ever do it again? No
Would I recommend anyone doing such thing? No (unless you like pain)
Am I glad I did it? Yes
