In Jan 2015, I successfully completed the Oxfam Trailwalker challenge along with Team MOTR. As a team, we walked 100kms within 35 hours. This series (Part 1 | Part 2) is a coverage of our walkathon with pictures, learning & tips.

 A concoction of almonds, raisins, cashew, jaggery & walnuts had worked wonders for our calorific needs during practice walks. The Chawla household’s hand prepared concoction remained as effective. We went through our stock in no time. 

This was our checkpoint before the night walking began. The drones were still out creating buzz. This next stretch was supposedly the most scenic. But due to relaxed stops at checkpoints, we were now doing the most scenic part after sunset.

Night walking was one of the most anticipated parts of our adventure. And we weren’t let down. It had cooled down & a canopy of bright stars beckoned us into the dark stretches.

A famished lot, we were hoping for a repeat of pongal for dinner. And we were not disappointed. Freshly prepared pongal & vada disappeared in no time. In preparation for the long last stretch of the night (about 16 kms), we took our own sweet time at this checkpoint. Re-taping, massages, stocking up on refreshments & a lot many deep breaths meant that we spent about 90 mins here. 

Due to an elephant sighting, we had to take a detour in this stretch. After 16 hours on the trail, these next 3-4 hours of walking felt the most arduous. Few words spoken. No pictures taken. Walking the trail felt like serious business.

Pappu Can’t Dance Saala. But when charged, there is no stopping Pappu. Amidst the tiredness & ebbing spirits, we got to see an amazing show of hope & stamina – hitherto unseen throughout the day. It was as if someone ordered an energy boost off Flipkart!

By the time we reached out next checkpoint (@ 12:30am), we just wanted a flat piece of ground to crash on. Though Satya, the fittest in the team, proposed that we continue walking through the night, he was out-voted. We slept in the open in whatever little space we found. What we had not bargained for was the dip in the mercury & the fog. We woke up within 3 hours due to cold & dankness. Walking was a better option.

If we were to do this again, we will be better prepared with sleeping bags & warm clothing for the night.  

The first stretch of the morning was one of the most difficult. We had 5-6 km on a road under construction. The small rocks made for difficult walking. And the dust storms raised by the various support vehicles moving fast on the mud road made for a very unpleasant stretch. We also had the second incident of getting lost – this time, it cost us a couple of extra KMs. As you can see in the pictures above, the tough stretch showed on our faces.

Not for long though. After a hearty breakfast & a well deserved rest, Team MOTR was ready to rock the last two stretches.

Phew ..that was a long climb. The penultimate stretch required us to conquer a couple of hillocks, that made for good photo ops. It was even more interesting to view the support vehicles – especially the smaller hatchbacks – make it through on all fours.

We met a lot of locals along the way. This particular bunch – we were very amused with. Our uniforms were uncannily similar.

We fell short of our 30 hour BHAG by 15 kms. What kept us from achieving the BHAG was our primary goal of all of us finishing the 100 kms on our feet. This led to longish checkpoint breaks from the very beginning. In hindsight, considering the strong finish we had, I was left wondering if we could have easily gone after the BHAG.

Look what 64 kms of walking does to you. After 31 hours of walking, 89 kms were done & 11 left. We were now looking forward to every KM covered. Just one more checkpoint & it was the final stretch. 

Thankfully for me, the blister issue surfaced only in the penultimate stretch. While I had taken care to tape myself appropriately the first day, I took it lightly on the second. I had let the novices manning the medical tents do their own thing with taping. This led to five of these beauties adorning my feet. A couple of them popped on their own – best thing to happen. Another two had to be popped – next best thing to do. But one of them persisted through the last stretch & made walking very painful.

Team MOTR at the final check-out. All set for the assault on the final stretch. By this time, Roshan’s (untrained) knee was screaming in protest of the assault it was facing. If he was so willing to do this without much training, we (with 3 months of training) just had to do smile through it. It was inspiring to have Roshan persist through the last 40 odd kms. 

Team MOTR was finishing together & finishing strong. We dashed through the last couple of KMs to beat the 35 hour mark. We were tired, but not out. Mission Accomplished.

Ahh ..the sweet feeling of achievement …a successful culmination of a 3 month adventure. Health. Cause. Friends. Challenge. The Oxfam Trailwalker had all the ingredients for a memorable phase in our lives. 

The award ceremony was also a humbling reminder of the fact that there were 800 other individuals who had taken up the challenge for a cause greater than themselves.

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Related Posts:
~ Team MOTR on Trail (Part 1)
~ Time For Personal Bests
~ 10 Questions That Questioned Us Into A 100km Walk
~ Progress For Team MOTR

Roshan started off as our remote support team from Singapore. He had been encouraging us, giving us training tips, contributed to the Oxfam cause …and when the opportunity presented itself, jumped in with his pants rolled up!

Once bitten, twice shy. We had one bad experience of doing a long walk on empty stomachs. It had left us tired & dispirited. This time, we took our tapering & carb loading very seriously. Dominos, Mast Kalandar and our host Chitra’s kitchen – all contributed on the night before.

Selfie time! Presenting the starting six of Team MOTR – (L to R) Yashu, Shub, Satya, Ram, Vivek, Roshan. Literally hours before the start, Yashu adopted us into his support fold. And just like that, we had a support team. To think we were planning on doing it without a full fledged support team …

It was a pleasant morning when we finally got going on the d-day. With so many teams there, it took us a whole minute to cross the starting line after the 6:00am official start.

We started with a 100 kms in 24 hours goal. But 30 hours sounded less daunting & a more realistic stretch goal. We settled on the later as our BHAG.

The setting of the trail in the initial few kilometers was as idyllic as it could be. I also realized soon enough that posting snaps as we progressed through the trail was going to be impossible – network was slow, signal strength inconsistent & the trail needed more of my attention than I had imagined.

Across the starting point & the various check points, we had hovering drones for company. These devices created quite a buzz with the participants & the local populace alike.

As expected, the sun was one of our biggest obstacles on the trail. Caps, goggles, sunscreen & appropriate hydration were critical equipment that is highly recommended.

The scenery upgraded to include hills & made for pretty picture opportunities. The sun notwithstanding, the spirits continued to be high.

Very soon we got hit by a harsher part of the trail. Stony, rugged, full of ups & down – the ultra flexible running shoes are just not made for this. Such sections (of which there was about 20kms across the trail) warranted better support & protection for the feet. Entry level hiking / trekking shoes would’ve served us better.

Keeping in mind the issue of sun, we had planned to take a long break at CP3 (after ~30kms / 7 hours from start). What we had not anticipated was the issue of finding a place to rest at the check point. The CP was overflowing with walkers!

The trail meandering through agricultural fields, along water canals & the sight of a dam made for a scenic walk just before dusk.

The villages were lined with sericulturists and their tools of trade. Sericulture is the rearing of silkworms for the production of silk. India & China apparently account for 60% of the world silk production, and the region we were walking through produces as much as half of India’s raw silk production.  
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Related Posts:
~ Time For Personal Bests
~ 10 Questions That Questioned Us Into A 100km Walk
~ Progress For Team MOTR