was no picnic. It was damned hard. I got very bad cramp at the 18 mile point and was very close to pulling out - mainly because I was at the bottom of 200 odd steep steps and every time I tried to lift a leg up to place my foot on the next step my legs cramped up completely. Eventually I managed to sidle up the side of the steps thus avoiding having to raise my legs too high and temporarily holding the cramp at bay. It took me about 20 minutes to get to the top though and when I did I tripped over a root and fell to the ground at which point the cramps came back with a vengeance. I couldn't even stand up, it was that bad. I had to crawl along the ground to a nearby tree and haul myself up using the lower branches for support. The rest of the race - the next 8 miles - was spent trying to overcome the frequent cramp attacks which were particularly viscous on the up-hills - of which there were many!
I finally finished, to my great relief, in 6 hrs 23 mins. I was 80th out of about 120 starters many of whom dropped out at the half-way point.
I'm planning to have another attempt at the Picnic when it's run again in 2011 - hopefully I'll be able knock a few minutes off my time (maybe even get under 6 hours) and next time I'll be carrying some electrolyt drink with me which should help with the cramp problems.
Jackson
1 comment:
Doing this tomorrow - how about you. Sounds like a nightmare, and it will be wet and slippery plus a 30kph wind. I will get my mind around not giving up at halfway - I already thought that could be a big temptation - ie. food rest and car nearby and knowing exactly what is in store for the second half of the walk. Goodluck if you do it!!! Hope you log it on fetcheveryone
Chris Hunt
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