Peter really knows his sh*t!

This weekend saw the team each having their own training plans. Gem and Gubbs met up with support team members Tracy & Peter again for another walk over the Downs. This week we decided to go for stage five, this is Houghton to Washington, a 12.5km (just under 8 mile) section with a total of 280 metre ascent.

The first thing learnt was that the Trailwalker course check points do not necessarily have a car park by them when it isn't the actual event. We ended up parking up a relatively small distance from each check point, though it made navigation a little more interesting while trying to slip back on to course. For example, walking down a busy road for the first mile did not make for an exciting experience, however, when on route we were taken through some beautiful countryside providing us with some amazing views.

Before we hit the South Downs Way route we stumbled across a pub which had a historic link to the past.  It's sign above the door stated that Charles II had stopped there in 1651 after the battle of Worcester to take Ale. We decided against taking Ale this early on a Saturday morning and ploughed on.

In to the second mile we hit a pretty steep ascent. We approached Amberley Mount and to be honest we felt a little intimidated! This looked like a 45% incline! We powered on up safe in the knowledge that Gem's home made flapjack was waiting to be served up at the top. This was Gem's first attempt at the flapjack and we'll hope to see a plenty more of it on future walks!

Dr Dung investigates

As we carried on on the South Downs way we happened upon a large pile of steaming, freshly delivered manure. This is when Peter en-parted the rest of us with his rich manure knowledge! Apparently, according to the consistency, colour and content, this was most definitely horse manure. Gem promptly named Peter "Dr Dung" in response. It lead to commentary and reviews each time we passed similar piles. These are the kind of things we discuss on these walks! Last week we had the Stile Index this week the Dung Directory. What in the world will it be next week?

Gem & Gubbs navigating

The weather was perfect for the time of year, and such a contrast in temperature to the last Downs walk 3 weeks ago in the snow. When the sun was out it was definitely t-shirt weather. It also showed us how exposed you are up there to the sun which is something to think about in July in the heat of summer.

The Trailwalker guide suggests that for a team aiming to hit a total of 24 hours you should complete the course in 3 hours. We completed the route (including the small detours due to parking) in just under three hours which we were pretty happy about as we had a couple of short stops on the way.

Julie was training alone this week and she walked 12 miles which was two laps of her usual 6 training route from home. She then kept those muscles warm by dancing the night away at a Motown night!  Good effort Julie! She's pushing up the distance now, which the whole team will be looking to do also soon.

Finally, Party Jo's training this weekend consisted of walking around Clapham in her really high sparkly shoes, which must count for something right??

Walking for Stiles

Hardcore Four's second full team walk took us to the village of Sherfield-on-Loddon, between Basingstoke and Reading.  The walk was another found by Jo on that very useful resource, the Internet.  This time the walk was found from a walking leaflet on the Hampshire County Council website.  We went for the 7 mile option which was elevated to 8 miles when we went in the wrong direction, but nevertheless it took us just over three hours to complete.

Poorly Gem finds a place to rest up

Gem, Jo & Julie check out the mud

Gem had spent the end of the week feeling a little worse for wear as she has had a cold, but determined to train she joined the team for the walk. By the end she was looking forward to curling up on the sofa with a blanket, but well done Gem for the commitment.

Though not as bad as last Sunday, this was another muddy walk.  It started to rain about half way though which made the muddy bits muddier.  However we all managed to stay upright with no comedy slips.

That's a 5 on the stile index

"I'd give that stile a 1.5" says Julie.  This is our introduction to The Stile Index.  It is a grading of stiles on a scale of 1 to 10.  Now, anyone who has crossed a few stiles in their life will know that they can vary wildly in their design, even within a few hundred metres, such as today when we cross three different styles of stiles in that distance!  Julie seemingly a stile expert now, has got to a point where she is able to rate each stile by its stirdyness, its ease of use and availability of hand support among other things.  She is even considering a book on the subject.  Watch out for that in all good bookshops in the not too distant future.  Just for your information, the stile shown in the picture in this blog was considered to be a 5!

The walk took us past a lovely newly thatched cottage which we decided to take a picture of so here it is!  Snowdrops out in bloom too, how picturesque!

That's all for this weekend.  Keep a look out on our Facebook page for more pictures of the walk.  We will add more through the week.  Even if you haven't got a Facebook account you are still able to see these.  If you have got a Facebook account, why not 'Like' us to be notified of updates and new pictures.

The First Team Walk

Today saw the Hardcore Four complete their first team walk. It also was the first time Julie had met Gem & Gubbs which was great and has obvious benefits!

The walk consisted of 5.6 miles taking in the watercress beds and meadows around Alresford, Hampshire.

Watercress ahoy!

Jo found the trail from WalkAndCycle.co.uk, which both started from and concluded at the Mid Hants Railway station in Alresford where the Watercress Line operates. This being a line that operates an old steam train running from Alresford to Alton.

A bit of history for you, the naming of the Watercress Line is down to the fact that it was previously used to run the locally produced watercress from the area to London for sale.

We did also see some watercress being grown as we made our way around the trek.

This was a pleasant walk around the Hampshire countryside. There were two big differences from Gem & Gubbs' walk yesterday:

1) No snow

2) A lot muddier!

Jo was wearing in her new boots and they definitely didn't look new by the end of it.

Jo wins the prize for muddiest walker today.

A Headstone for Hambone Jr.

We also saw a small headstone alongside the path on the river Arle which had the inscription: 'HERE LIES HAMBONE JR., FAITHFUL FRIEND OF THE 47th INFANTRY REGIMENT, 9th DIVISION, U.S. ARMY, MAY 1944'.

We assumed that it must have been a US Army mascot dog in the Second World War, and we were right. After a little research, it turns out that Hambone Jr. was a dog who met his unfortunate end with a US Army truck while they were on their way to Portsmouth and Southampton in preparation for D-Day in May 1944.

This rounds off a good weekend of training for the Hardcore Four. More to come next week.

Shall we start at Stage 1? No, how about Stage 3?

This post is all about our first training walk on a part of the actual Trailwalker course. Well, for half the team anyway.

This morning Gem & Gubbs headed to meet with Gem's parents and half of Hardcore Four's support crew, Tracy and Peter.  Tracy and Peter live within the South Downs National Park and so they provided Gem & Gubbs with a guided walk of stage three of the Trailwalker course, Cocking to Littleton Farm (8.3km).

After venturing away from the car park and road, we quickly realised that the path was paved with snow and ice.  Ever keen to use new equipment, we found very quickly how useful the walking poles were to stay on our feet.  No 'You've Been Framed' moments thankfully.

On the way we saw a host of wildlife, including a herd of deer (twice), voles and field mice, plus the usual farm cattle and sheep.  We caught the deer on camera - not a great video, but is attached for your viewing 'pleasure'.

The stage is relatively easy as although there is an initial ascent, there is little variation in gradient until the dip at the end.

It was a beautiful morning for a walk, and although snow covered, it was quite mild considering how cold it has been.


We reached the end of the route in two hours, had a quick banana break, turned around, and then headed back the way we came to the car park.

We plan to add more photos to our Facebook page over the next week or so.  Please check it out and if you have a Facebook account why not 'Like' us to get more updates from us as and when they are posted.

Check back for another blog update tomorrow once we've had our first team training walk.

S-no-w Time for Walking

A short entry this week for the Hardcore Four.  Unfortunately this was a week with more injury news rather than walks, but we're still early days!

Julie our star walker from last week injured her Achilles and so has not been able to complete as many walks this week.  She has however invested in some Compeed blister plasters and zinc oxide tape for those inevitable blisters! Continuing the blister prevention theme she has also organised some new socks for herself and Jo. We'll have to get those trialled and tested well prior to the event.

Jo has started her physio sessions for her ankle which she injured in the new year so we also hope to have her back in full training soon! She spent the weekend resting up on the dance floors of Brighton with some uni pals. Perhaps scouting out where we go to celebrate and burn off all that excess energy when we complete Trailwalker.

As for Gem & Gubbs, other than a spin class at the newly joined gym, there were no training walks this week, but this is not for injury reasons.  Rather a weekend away back to Gubbs' native Kent for a family birthday party. They did however use this as an opportunity to spread the word about the team's Trailwalker challenge in the hope of some future sponsorship! ;-)

...and it also snowed in Kent!  So please meet our rather irrelevant snow penguin.