ADVENTURE
FEATURE
and I soon learnt how to deal with long distances: you block them out. Each step becomes the necessary building blocks you have to individually lay to complete your masterpiece. It might sound all rather abstract, and I am in agreement, but it’s also funny what happens to the brain when you’re at your limits.
Although we were in the logging
clinging also. It’s exciting. The first day takes its toll – I hadn’t managed my water properly and was dehydrated. Moments after I crossed the finish line I was emptying the contents of my stomach, receiving some concerned attention from medics. A few sachets of dioralyte later and I was ok – a little shaken and tired but ready to for the next day. Stage 1 hadn’t gone to plan – my inexperience had definitely shown and I had used up precious resources getting to the end.
Stage 2 – Amazonia At the start of Stage 2 I ease in slowly, but still faster and harder than I should as there’s 33km to cover today. As the interlocking valley opens out we get our first glimpse of the forest below: a huge, magnificent expanse of green canopy, both daunting and beautiful. The jungle trails are relentless;
it’s steep and rocky but my feet are back in business. However, the dense rainforest is hot and humid and fatigue begins to kick in. I get slower and slower and get overtaken by others. It’s tough on my morale and I begin to sink into a lull. Apparently the Lull is on day 4, not on day 2. This is not how it’s supposed to be – I just have to keep going, I’m on autopilot. The jungle eventually opens out into cleared cocoa and banana plantations. Here the air is still and it’s sweltering – I didn’t think it would be this tough.
Eventually we reach camp where I definitely hit my lowest point so far, with the day pushing me to breaking point. The heat, the fatigue and the realisation that we had barely covered a quarter of the full distance was a brutal comprehension. But then I thought hard of the reasons why I was out here, in the Amazon, in the wild, running this distance. I then thought of all the people who had made it possible and had supported me along the way. The thousands of pounds I’d raised for Leukemia and Lymphoma – I couldn’t quit. I compartmentalised the next few days into manageable events. I knew I could run 30km tomorrow, no problem. 36km the day after was doable, I can do that. I blocked The Long One, the 92km, out for the time being.
Stage 3 – Logging The proper start of my race, when I was running. If I wanted to pick up a medal at the end of this thing then I had to gain control. I started slow and let everyone run on ahead. There was a river crossing only a few kilometres into the stage – here, two-by-two we crossed the wide, raging river on a zip wire. The break in the running was the perfect start to the day and I felt positive that I could nail the 30km. Normal service had resumed. My memories of the third stage are less vivid than the first two. Mentally I had prepared myself to finish the day
region the surroundings were incredible. Generations of farmers had slashed and burnt the forests and loggers had cleared the rest. It felt like there were a lot more places to hide in the grass, mainly snakes and spiders. As we ran along narrow paths the large grass blades lapped our feet and legs. If I was a snake I would pick this spot to take down my day’s prey. We were praying that wouldn’t be the case but there’s a limit to the speed you can run when you’re at the rugged edge of your ability. Finally reaching the small jungle
town of Santa Rosa, our basecamp for the night, felt like heaven. As it turned out, the village’s collection of semi- feral dogs were quite content to fight until the early hours, until the cockerels took over at the crack of dawn. Brilliant.
Stage 4 – The Lull The fourth stage had been talked about, a lot. At this point we entered the real jungle. Ants, bees, wasps, flies and spiders were the order of the day and they came out in their droves; particularly the ants. Bullet ants, carrier ants, red ants, ant highways littered the trails in their thousands. Pressing on through the steep inclines and loose, rocky, narrow paths I found a natural rhythm as feet and shoes really turned it up for the Lull. The grip of the (cue plug) VIVOBAREFOOT Breatho Trail shoes meant I could prevail strongly up the hills and confidently use gravity on the steep downs. My feet were working hard and all the toe exercises and barefoot running really paid dividends when I needed the extra strength and agility to keep going. No blisters, no
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