Charlottes' Walk
On Friday 2nd March I undertook my 10 hour walk. As everyone in the UK will know, for the majority of that week it had been snowing and was bitterly cold, and whilst it wasn't as bad in Essex as it was in other parts of the UK, as my photos will attest, the conditions were certainly not ideal. Whilst I was determined to do the walk in 10 hours, I also reminded myself that my safety was the main priority, so I was at least going to walk for as long as I could.
I set out from my house in Rayleigh, Essex, at just gone 7, and decided to walk along familiar roads, setting my Nan's old house as my target. The conditions on the pavements varied, to areas where there as no snow or ice, to areas where I nearly slipped and fell multiple times! I decided that it was safest to walk on snowier parts which often meant I walked in a zig zag motion, meaning I probably looked even madder than normal! I reached my nana's old house which is just on the outskirts of Southend near the airport, after about 1 hour and 30 mins and I did my first video update. I learnt that filming and walking at the same time was definitely dangerous so tried to only film when I knew I had safe footing. Through the video updates (some of which I have included below) I was able to update people on my progress and they were a fun thing to do at certain milestones.
So after reaching my nan's old house I decided that instead of turning back like I told my mum I would do, I carried on walking towards Southend airport, as the pavements on a whole weren't as bad as I predicted. I also wanted to walk near the airport as 1) it was an impressive place to show people who knew where I lived how far I had managed to walk and 2)there's a McDonalds there so I could get a coffee and a hash brown! After this brief stop at McDonalds I contemplated where to head next, and decided I would try and venture further into Southend. I walked in Priory Park which was empty bar one dog walker and two men in tents who were fishing! I then carried on up the hill (which was one of my main concerns!) past Roots Hall, the home of Southend Football club. I then walked through Southend highstreet, past the train station, past all the shops (including the McDonalds that I would go in on my walk back for a hot chocolate) down to the observation deck, from which you can see all the seafront and the pier. I decided against actually walking down to the seafront as it is quite steep, and after walking for 3 and a half hours, I decided to head back to Rayleigh. I made a few different turns, walking past my other Nan's old house, so it was a nice walk down memory lane!
After 5 hours, the pain started to set in. My knees, hips, ankles and feet were in pain and aching. My pace had definitely slowed, and I desperately needed a pick up. It was whilst nearing my house that my fit bit stopped at 6 hours and I had around about 20 minutes where none of my steps where counted, which frustrated me to no end! It then began to malfunction 9obviously not liking the cold) but I finally got it to wok again. So after passing my house, I carried on into Rayleigh highstreet where I had lunch. After a very short sit down to eat (which by the way, getting up from was a challenge in itself) I passed the pub where my parents were having lunch, and I was extremely jealous to say the least!
After this I walked on towards the Rayleigh Weir, which is a ginormous roundabout which isn't the most suited to pedestrians! I walked past Sainsburys and Argos, and resisted the temptation to enter my third McDonalds. I must also note that at this point it had started to snow; and really snow. Imprints I had left in the snow 30 mins before had vanished! I then went round in loops near my house as the weather was getting very bad, affecting visibility so I didn't want to stray too far. If the weather had been like this at the beginning I doubt I would have been able to do 10 hours in a row, but as it came within the last 2 and half I preserved. For the last 45 mins my mum and my dog Millie joined me, and I then did the last 10 mins by myself. Actually stopping was one of the hardest things to do, because I'd been so used to continually moving, that as soon as I stopped, the aches and pains I'd been having magnified significantly! I was treated to a nice bath and a foot rub, but whenever I sat still for too long my legs seized up! I will also (grossly) admit to having several large blisters that preceded to pop and to this day (3 days after) continue to make walking painful and difficult!
Whilst the aches, and majority of the pain has gone, I still find it difficult to get my head around what I'd actually done. It didn't feel like 10 hours and wasn't as bad as I thought it would be. In total I managed to walk around (because for around 20 mins my fit bit did malfunction) 60,000 steps and cover over 42 km (so roughly around 26 miles, the same as a marathon!). The weather didn't help but made it more interesting shall we say! It was also so nice to see all these different people leave nice comments on my videos and photos wishing me well and pledging their supports, so that also kept me going. But what kept me going to most was the fact that I knew this physical challenge was encouraging people to donate to a worthwhile cause. And that's what it's for. The mental and physical challenge that we are all putting ourselves under is not in any way comparable to what the people IRMO helps put themselves through so that they can have a better life by coming over to the UK, so this task seems rather minute in comparison.
So would I do it again? Unlikely. Was it worth it? Absolutely. What would I tell my fellow group members? Invest in good shoes and be prepared for blisters!
I set out from my house in Rayleigh, Essex, at just gone 7, and decided to walk along familiar roads, setting my Nan's old house as my target. The conditions on the pavements varied, to areas where there as no snow or ice, to areas where I nearly slipped and fell multiple times! I decided that it was safest to walk on snowier parts which often meant I walked in a zig zag motion, meaning I probably looked even madder than normal! I reached my nana's old house which is just on the outskirts of Southend near the airport, after about 1 hour and 30 mins and I did my first video update. I learnt that filming and walking at the same time was definitely dangerous so tried to only film when I knew I had safe footing. Through the video updates (some of which I have included below) I was able to update people on my progress and they were a fun thing to do at certain milestones.
So after reaching my nan's old house I decided that instead of turning back like I told my mum I would do, I carried on walking towards Southend airport, as the pavements on a whole weren't as bad as I predicted. I also wanted to walk near the airport as 1) it was an impressive place to show people who knew where I lived how far I had managed to walk and 2)there's a McDonalds there so I could get a coffee and a hash brown! After this brief stop at McDonalds I contemplated where to head next, and decided I would try and venture further into Southend. I walked in Priory Park which was empty bar one dog walker and two men in tents who were fishing! I then carried on up the hill (which was one of my main concerns!) past Roots Hall, the home of Southend Football club. I then walked through Southend highstreet, past the train station, past all the shops (including the McDonalds that I would go in on my walk back for a hot chocolate) down to the observation deck, from which you can see all the seafront and the pier. I decided against actually walking down to the seafront as it is quite steep, and after walking for 3 and a half hours, I decided to head back to Rayleigh. I made a few different turns, walking past my other Nan's old house, so it was a nice walk down memory lane!
After 5 hours, the pain started to set in. My knees, hips, ankles and feet were in pain and aching. My pace had definitely slowed, and I desperately needed a pick up. It was whilst nearing my house that my fit bit stopped at 6 hours and I had around about 20 minutes where none of my steps where counted, which frustrated me to no end! It then began to malfunction 9obviously not liking the cold) but I finally got it to wok again. So after passing my house, I carried on into Rayleigh highstreet where I had lunch. After a very short sit down to eat (which by the way, getting up from was a challenge in itself) I passed the pub where my parents were having lunch, and I was extremely jealous to say the least!
After this I walked on towards the Rayleigh Weir, which is a ginormous roundabout which isn't the most suited to pedestrians! I walked past Sainsburys and Argos, and resisted the temptation to enter my third McDonalds. I must also note that at this point it had started to snow; and really snow. Imprints I had left in the snow 30 mins before had vanished! I then went round in loops near my house as the weather was getting very bad, affecting visibility so I didn't want to stray too far. If the weather had been like this at the beginning I doubt I would have been able to do 10 hours in a row, but as it came within the last 2 and half I preserved. For the last 45 mins my mum and my dog Millie joined me, and I then did the last 10 mins by myself. Actually stopping was one of the hardest things to do, because I'd been so used to continually moving, that as soon as I stopped, the aches and pains I'd been having magnified significantly! I was treated to a nice bath and a foot rub, but whenever I sat still for too long my legs seized up! I will also (grossly) admit to having several large blisters that preceded to pop and to this day (3 days after) continue to make walking painful and difficult!
Whilst the aches, and majority of the pain has gone, I still find it difficult to get my head around what I'd actually done. It didn't feel like 10 hours and wasn't as bad as I thought it would be. In total I managed to walk around (because for around 20 mins my fit bit did malfunction) 60,000 steps and cover over 42 km (so roughly around 26 miles, the same as a marathon!). The weather didn't help but made it more interesting shall we say! It was also so nice to see all these different people leave nice comments on my videos and photos wishing me well and pledging their supports, so that also kept me going. But what kept me going to most was the fact that I knew this physical challenge was encouraging people to donate to a worthwhile cause. And that's what it's for. The mental and physical challenge that we are all putting ourselves under is not in any way comparable to what the people IRMO helps put themselves through so that they can have a better life by coming over to the UK, so this task seems rather minute in comparison.
So would I do it again? Unlikely. Was it worth it? Absolutely. What would I tell my fellow group members? Invest in good shoes and be prepared for blisters!
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| 7am start:3 jumper, 3 pairs of leggings, 2 pairs of socks, hat, scarf, gloves, coat and multiple snacks! |
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| 2 hours in |
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| Visibility wasn't the best at this pint, but powered through as not long left |
1 hour left and I was joined with my parents, in the now heavy snow!
My celebration after finishing my 10 hour walk!
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