Wishing our amazing Trailwalkers the very best of luck!
This weekend, between 12-13 September, over 330 teams will be tackling the infamous Trailwalker Challenge, a gruelling 100km trek across the South Downs. As well as taking on this incredible physical and mental challenge, teams will be raising vital funds to support the Gurkha Welfare Trust. So far teams have collectively raised over £168,000 towards our target of £250,000 and fundraising activities continue apace as they reach the end of their training for the event.
Over the past months teams have covered thousands of miles on training walks, taken part in all sorts of fundraising activities and spent endless hours discussing shoes, kit, food, blisters and how they will celebrate at the finish! We will be unveiling the new Trailwalker medal and T shirt and looking forward to a legendary Gurkha curry at Brighton Racecourse.
The challenge of a lifetime
It is no mean feat to become “Trailwalker Strong” – the route follows the South Downs Way over tough terrain and with some challenging hills. In fact the total elevation gain is 2,763m – that’s more than twice the height of Ben Nevis! The cut off for finishing is 30 hours, but the fastest teams will be battling to be the first over the line and expect to finish in under 10 hours. Teams will carry GPS trackers so you will be able to track them live across the route throughout the Challenge.
Track your Team Live from 6am Saturday 12 September
Meet some of the challengers
Among the hundreds of teams gearing up for this challenge of a lifetime is Fabian DePret, leading his team, the Fab 4.
“We are feeling as exited as we are terrified. Three of us are returning walkers but our training has been limited due to our busy work schedules. We haven’t trained together but we have a playbook which hopefully we’ll executed with minimal surprises and headwinds. We are starting to prep our backs with the necessary gear, plan for food and gels.”
Although Fabian isn’t looking forward to the remarkably early start on Saturday morning, he and his team are planning to push on through and have the course completed by 11pm that evening in time to get the last train back to London!
“We are relatively fit but I have enough experience in ultra trail to know to be humble as anything can happen, literally anything on such distances. The only certainty is we will be on the starting line at 6am, I can’t predict anything else.”
“When things get tough the idea is to slow down, keep going and most importantly have a good balance between encouraging each other and listening to one another needs. This is part of the journey, it’s not about the walking or the jogging, it’s really about spending time together with ups and downs and hopefully making it on the other side with as much joy and pride as legs hurt.”
Hughie Arbuthnott was flattered when he was invited to join team ‘Coach Bravo’ at this year’s Trailwalker Challenge.
“When I saw it was for the GWT it made me say yes without thinking it through any further. Last year we went on a family battlefield tour of Monte Cassino where my Grandfather commanded a Gurkha Battalion that assaulted the Monastery and he talks in his memoirs about the bravery and character of his Gurkhas that it made it all the more special.”
Hughie has enjoyed the preparation for this challenge, although finding time for the training walks has not always been easy. “I have hugely enjoyed the training, getting fit and embarking on fundraising.”
Hughie is looking forward to getting into a steady rhythm with his team and taking in the South Downs views, but when the going gets tough, he already knows what will keep him moving forward:
“The mental jukebox of The Killers songs, The memory of recently deceased friends, The memory of those long gone, Mantras like “pain is only weakness leaving the body”, not wanting to let those down who have all been so generous sponsoring and ultimately knowing that others have done it before so it is doable. Also the support of one another in the team.”
This won’t be the first time Louise Carter of team ‘Women with Altitude’ has faced the Trailwalker challenge, having completed it 18 years ago.
“I seem to recall saying “never again!” 18 years ago! However, last summer my family and I stayed at South Downs YHA, and I spotted a poster advertising last year’s event. A thought crossed my mind, and I couldn’t shake it off. “Are my knees up to it again?”, “Can I get a team of like-minded women together to take on this challenge?”, “Is this what they call a midlife crisis?”
“I just couldn’t shake it, and over the next few months I managed to persuade six incredible women to join me as part of a relay team. The relay has been a fabulous opportunity, as it has enabled each member to take on their own individual challenge as part of a wider team event. Some of us have trained to complete the entire route, whilst others have set themselves their own personal challenge, for example, walking further than they have ever done before or walking through the night. We are amazing women in our 50s, 60s and 70s, and I am so proud of what we will achieve.”
Louise is feeling more prepared this time around and her team-mates have been a brilliant source of strength and support. Amongst themselves they have discussed how they will get through the tougher times of this challenge. “Getting to know each other as a team has helped us recognise times when we might each need support. We are good at looking out for each other. And we all have little mantras that we will draw on. Mine is “Tough times don’t last but tough people do”, whilst Jenny’s is “At some point this will end!”
Most importantly, we all appreciate that a warm bath and bed will be available to us at the end of the TW, something denied to so many in Rasuwa since the devastating flash floods on 26 August.”
Louise’s teammate Steph added “Today I had a “remind me why I thought this was a good idea” moment. Definitely have a case of pre- event jitters which although completely to be expected it’s made me respect that this will be my hardest challenge to date. During 3 peak challenges you get 6hrs car journeys between each peak, the 100m bike race was completely doable, the 50mile walk event was in 40hrs so it felt easier. There’s something about walking through the dark that makes it feel a more daunting challenge. I for one will be having to dig deep during the event. The more challenging an event the more rewarding it will be.”
Good luck Trailwalkers!
Best of luck to everyone who will be joining us at event weekend, the walkers, runners and their tireless support crews who will be there at every checkpoint. We are also incredibly grateful to the Queen’s Gurkha Signals who put in an incredible amount of work setting up the event and manning Exercise Control, ensuring everything runs smoothly. Plus our super brigade of volunteers who will be manning checkpoints throughout the day and night and cheering participants though the finish. We could not do this without you.
If you are not able to take part or volunteer help us make this the best Trailwalker ever by making a contribution here!