On Friday Team Equinox embarked on the Oxfam 100km Trailwalker!
Team Equinox consist of the following members
- Diana
- Edwin
- Polly
- Silvia
We completed it in 30hrs 45mins
and had the following positions in the various categories:
Overall 261/510
Mixed 102/251
Open 92/195
The journey was divided into 9 segments with 8 check points in between.
We had a support crew which were allowed to meet us at certain checkpoints.
Our support crew were:
- Darren (First day till 2am the next day) (CP2, CP3, CP5)
- Anna and Sophie (3am till finish) (CP6, CP7, CP8)
Below is the map of the route:
And the elevation change of the route
Our arrival times at each check point are below:
We started off in Brooklyn at the Hawkesbury River at 8:30am on Friday 28/08/2009.
The first checkpoint was 14km long and had quite a few steep sections.
The weather was good and there were a lot of other teams walking together, so we could only go so fast.
This was especially so when we entered the bush and had to walk in single file.
We arrived at CP1 12mins ahead of schedule and in high spirits. –we might finish ahead of schedule!
The walk from CP1 to CP2 (14km) was probably the hardest for me.
I had a little too many peanut butter sandwiches and was feeling quite heavy.
Plus the weather was really hot which made it all the more uncomfortable.
Somewhere along this walk, Diana did not feel too good either.
At CP2, we met our Support Crew (Darren) and had sausage sizzle!
We arrived at CP2 45mins ahead of schedule!!!
CP2 to CP3 was 13.5km long and had the steepest climb in the whole trail.
It was the sort of steep climb which is quite deceiving;
it looks like it flattens out relatively early, but once you get to the flat bit, you’re greeted with another steep section.
This would go on for quite a few sections.
It also got dark during this walk and we had to use our headlamps for part of this section.
Once at CP3, Darren had dinner waiting for us and we had pasta.
It was the best pasta I ever had! Hot food tastes so good when you’re hiking!
We all had seconds! Hopefully there were some left for Darren.
CP3 to CP4 was 8km long.
It wasn’t too bad especially having just refuelled with the wonderful pasta.
I forgot to mention that during one of the planning meetings, Polly and Diana decide to introduce the concept of a ‘Champion Bitch’.
The role of the ‘Champion B**h’ was to made sure everyone kept to the schedule and not take too long for the rest breaks.
We all took turns to fill that role and I think for this section, Silvia was it!
Meanwhile, Diana hasn’t been getting any better since the CP1 to CP2 section (about 20km into the walk).
It turns out that she was suffering from a bout of chafing.
When we arrived at CP4, she evaluated the extent of the chafing and decided that she would retire from the walk at the next checkpoint CP5.
This was because we could not have support crew at CP4 and if she pulled through to CP5, Darren would be able to take her home.
At this point of the walk, we were still quite ahead of schedule.
CP4 to CP5 was 9km long and I was starting to get tired.
I had woken up at 4am in order to be in Central at 6:30am to catch the train to Brooklyn for an 8:30am start.
I think the gals were also starting to get weary too as there was less chatting among the group.
Once we arrived at CP5, Diana retired from the walk and we were able to snap this group photo before we left.
CP5 to CP6 was 12km long and at this point, I was starting to take micro-sleeps while walking.
It’s the kind of micro-sleep the Police’s ‘Stop-Revive-Survive’ ads are warning motorist about.
I remember doing that on a particularly steep uphill section and was thinking to myself just how dangerous this was I was in the bush and could potentially trip on a rock and land on my face.
I even started to see ‘things’ in the shadow and at one point, thought a branch which another trail-walker was using as a walking stick was a snake.
Once we got to CP6, we had porridge for brekkie and I had some red bull. – I was fine after that.
From here onwards, we had Anna and Sophie as out Support Crew.
CP6 to CP7 was 10km long was where Silvia hit her low point during the walk.
Silvia legs were getting really sore and she started developing massive blisters on her feet.
She struggled through this section and was moving quite slowly.
The gal’s quite a trooper though as she was filled with optimism and I don’t recall her complaining even once throughout this section.
Once we got to CP7, Polly and Silvia both had the blisters in their feet attended to by the first aiders and they also changed from their hiking shoes to runners.
Meanwhile, while they were getting their feet attended too, I saw the chiropractor and got some trigger pointing massage as according to the chrio, my lateral gastro are incredibly tight.
CP7 to CP8 was 7.5km and amazingly Silvia was able to move quite quickly again.
The shoe change and having the blisters attended too did the trick for her.
For this section, one of our support crew, Anna, decided to join us for the walk, to encourage us and to set the pace.
This section went relatively well, but I think Polly was in quite a bit of pain at this stage, probably from her sore legs.
Once at CP8, I too changed my hiking shoes for runners and was quite surprised to find that I hadn’t developed any blisters. –I was quite lucky there!
CP8 to finish was 12km long and was mainly through civilisation (residential and built up areas). It was easy to walk.
Diana met as at the last km and we managed to cross the finish line together as a team!
Had champagne, strawberries and chocolates waiting for as at the finish. It was 3:15pm when we finish!
It was a looong walk. It was fun but I’m not too sure if I’ll do it again.
Thanks everyone for their support, sms messages and phone calls through this event.
The support from everybody played an important part in the team completing the 100km distance!
http://www2.oxfam.org.au/trailwalker/Sydney/team/175
Edwin