...then try the Trailwalker Challenge - 100 Km through terrain within 30 hours. Teams of 4 people set out hiking or running the distance through the South Downs national park from 6 a.m. in the morning on a rainy weekend in late July.
As a joint fundraiser between Oxfam and the Gurkha Welfare Trust, the event attracts over 1600 participants. Unbelievably, the first teams of Gurkha soldiers arrived at the finish line a little over 10 hours after starting! With stops at the 9-odd checkpoints and feeding stations, that makes for an average pace of 10Km/hour through hilly terrain - a feat in human endurance almost too hard to imagine.
Most teams struggle through the course at a slower pace and hike rather than run. To complete the challenge, 30 hours are the maximum time allowed. There were emotional scenes throughout the night and the following morning as tired and exhausted trailwalkers arrived at the Brighton Racecourse finish line. And I must add - I was pretty exhausted too...
