Hardcore Four's Final Thoughts

With the Trailwalker event now passed, and having had time to reflect on the pain that was inflicted in those 31 hours and 26 minutes, we decided to put together the team's final thoughts. We hope you enjoy:

Jo
Well, I can't actually believe its over, and we all made it to the finish! It still feels like a dream!

Trailwalker has definitely been the hardest thing I've ever done in my life! I've really enjoyed all the training over the past 6 months, spending time with my mum, Gubbs, Gem and Josh has been a real pleasure, and I've loved being out in the countryside every weekend, exercising in the fresh air and taking in the beautiful views on the south downs. It's just a shame we didn't get the same sunny weather we've had on most of our training walks on the actual day.


The rain and mud were awful, energy sapping, and in places, really demoralising. However, on reflection, I still enjoyed taking part and the whole experience of trailwalker. The event was really well organised and the Gurkhas and volunteers really made a difference to me, with their cheerful smiles and words of encouragement on the way round the course.

I had some real low points on the way. I think there were four times when I was really ready to quit, all occurring from checkpoint 7 onwards. I remember walking along just sobbing because I was in so much pain towards the end. I really wouldn't have made it without the support of my amazing team members and support crew. I can't describe how incredibly proud I am of my fellow Hardcore Four members. The strength, bravery and determination they all showed to ensure we finished the course as a team of four was unbelievable! We made it guys!

Gubbs, you were so patient and encouraging when the team members really needed you, you really helped to hold the team together and kept smiling the whole way.
Mum, you were so strong and resilient, I couldn't have made it through if I didn't have you there. Your song made me laugh! I think you are such an amazing woman!
Josh, you were so brave. Seeing how much you were hurting from your injuries broke my heart, but you were so determined to keep going, it was inspirational!
Gem, I'm sorry you never got to take part in the actual event with us, I missed having you there, but you'll always be a part of hardcore four, and you made an awesome support crew member!

And I can't ever thank our support crew enough for everything they did for us. They had to deal with some really awful conditions, often spending hours waiting for us to arrive at checkpoints when we were really struggling. But seeing their smiling faces, and seeing how much thought and effort they put in to lifting our spirits at each checkpoint was amazing.  They played music, gave us treats, collected messages of support from friends and family, made bunting, gave us balloons and glow sticks for the night stages, came out and met us on the course to help us through the final miles to the next checkpoint, and just encouraged us the whole way. Dad, thank you for making it to nearly every checkpoint and seeing us through, and for giving me higs when I was struggling. Stewart thank you for being there for me, for the cuddles and for your late night messages (by the way as we all made it to the end I think this means that England beat Scotland!). Anna, Tracy and Peter, thank you guys so much!

For anyone reading this who is considering whether to do trailwalker, I would say definintely do it. It's an incredible experience and it will show you just how strong you can be, and how sheer will power and the support of those that love you can get you through anything! Things I would recommend are really good walking boots, walking poles were invaluable for all the trenching through the mud, and train train train, it's easy to underestimate how much something like this will take its toll on your body.

One final thought, pain is only temporary, but the achievement will last forever!

Julie

MUD!!! I knew it would be muddy, but I think that was beyond the call of duty!!

What a tremendous experience, so tough, but so worth it! Our team HARDCORE FOUR really lived up to our name, we were all so amazing and a terrific team. At some points I don't know how we all kept going, but keep going we did.

Thank you team, it was so fantastic to finish as a team of four. HARDCORE!!

Whenever I hear "Why, why, why Delilah?", I'll think of us.

Also we showed some great teamwork when things weren't going so well, for example when my Camelbak was leaking Jo offered me to share hers, and when Josh's knee was bad over stage 6, Gubbs carried Josh's backpack to lighten the load.

Thank you to our support crews who were absolutely terrific and put in so much effort, from video clips of friends and family to motivate us in the tough times and music and bunting decorated with encouraging words and photos. They were there at every stage come what may, with encouragement and smiles.

Thank you to all our sponsors who have been fantastic too and helped us raise lots more than our original target.

Thank you also to the Gurkhas who were there at every checkpoint and along the route to encourage and make sure everyone was safe.

A once in a lifetime experience, and I mean ONCE!!

Gubbs
I think it is fair to say that Trailwalker took over my life just a little bit this year! I like to throw myself into a challenge and so became boarderline obsessed by it! I can only apologise to friends and family who I may have annoyed in the past 6 months!

I have particularly enjoyed the Trailwalker community on Twitter and Facebook. I think I will miss fellow teams we have got to know over all this time, but I am glad we got to meet a couple of them on the day itself.

Setting off on the challenge itself was emotional for me, because when signing up I was going to do this with my wife, Gem, and she was not able to complete this with us, which she was gutted about.

That said, I am happy we managed to find a replacement in Josh, who was already a good pal of mine and I'm so happy that he managed to finish through gritted teeth. He had some serious will power that he seemed to be able to tap in to when things got really tough.

Jo & Julie were always strong characters in training, very rarely showing weakness, and so I knew that they'd be there, finishing it with us at the end. You guys did fantastically and can be very proud.

I'd like to say a huge thank you to our support crew members (in order of appearance!): Jeff, Stewart, Gem, Anna, Tracy, Peter. It was support that was very much needed by all the team, and each support member brought their own strengths (and treats!) that were very much appreciated. Thanks also for all the waiting around, the surprises and special treats, and effort made for the message boards, video messages, bunting, glow sticks, etc. Thanks to those outside the support crew who were involved in the making of these too.

Thanks to our sponsors - like Julie said, you by far exceeded our expectations, so thank you!

Finally I'd like to say a big thank you to the organisers who did a fantastic job, considering the issues! Also to the Gurkhas and volunteers at each checkpoint - you always raised a smile :)

For anyone looking to do this in the future I have four tips:
1) do the training miles (over the course if possible)
2) train in all weathers (you never know what you'll get)
3) keep eating and drinking, even when the stomach doesn't want any more!
4) it's just one foot in front of another, take it one step at a time.

My final thought..."Pain might be temporary, but it bloody hurts at the time."

Josh
Trailwalker is one of the hardest physical and mental challenges I have ever put myself through. Slowly stage by stage parts of my body began to give up and there were various moments when I thought I wasn't going to make it but the support of Gubbs, Jo and Julie (The Team), support crew and phone calls from home kept me going, somehow although I'm still not sure how I did it, I crossed the finish line and we did it as a complete team.

Without that support and encouragement I would never of made and I cannot thank everyone enough who was involved, crossing that finish line was the best feeling ever and I don't regret signing up one bit (All though more then 6 weeks notice would of been nice Gubbs).

Would I do it again? Well its Trailwalker + 3 days at the point of writing this and I still cant walk like a normal person, but you know what, I think I would do it again. Call me stupid but the achievement and emotions felt for completing the challenge were fantastic.

Convincing anyone else to do it with me? Well that may be the biggest challenge. What do we reckon team?