Sophia's footwear musings...!

Ok, so as the self-proclaimed least experienced member of the team I thought I would write the first blog on perhaps the most crucial piece of kit for the walk - the footwear. Apparently your choice can be the difference between 'agony and ecstasy' so I am pretty keen to get it right.

The furthest I have ever walked, non-stop, was in Thailand a few years ago when I trekked in the Chain Mai jungle. I did this in my flip flops; despite our guide's best efforts to get me to swap for his rather battered looking trainers. Luckily I made it to the other end in one piece and proved that it could be accomplished in beach wear.

However, I have had to accept that for the big 100km (in around 170 days time!) I will need more robust footwear to see me through to the finish line. And of course I am told that I have to break them in first, so I guess that means I have to make a purchase sooner rather than later.

I've had a look around online and in a couple of outdoor shops. It's strange to think that I'll have to spend around £80 on a pair of shoes that do not have heels but it has to be done! There are so many things to consider - grip, arch and ankle support, fabric breathability, foot beds...and I haven't even touched on socks yet. So after testing some models and checking their reviews out online I have a pair in mind which I will purchase very shortly - or more specifically after pay day!

Sophia

 

Our first post...!

Hi, thanks for visiting our page! As you are no doubt aware we are BL 3 and we are a team of four from Blake Lapthorn solicitors who are taking part in Trailwalker 2011!

The Challenge
For those of you who do not know what Trailwalker is there is a link to the event on the left hand side of this page. However, in brief, it is an 100km challenge along the South Downs. Each team has 30 hours in which to cover the distance but we are aiming to complete under 20 hours, a pretty ambitious target! The event was set up to raise money both for Oxfam but also for the Gurkhas.


The Team

The BL 3 team is made up of the following members: 


John Hepworth (Senior Solicitor in the Professional Regulatory team); Joseph Lloyd (Solicitor in the Professional Regulatory team); Sophia King (Trainee solicitor in the Corporate team) and

Alicia Marsh (Trainee Solicitor in the Clinical Negligence Team).
  
We will be aided in our attempt by a support crew who will provide vital assistance by meeting us at the appointed checkpoints with food, drinks and, hopefully, clean/dry clothes when necessary! This crew will be Tim Williamson (Solicitor in the Driver Defence team) along with his fiancee, Jennifer.

Training for the Event

We will be following the 'advanced' training plan as suggested by Oxfam. It is based on a 15 week training plan which will have us training 6 days a week (with Friday being the suggested day of rest). All members of the team have a good basic fitness level and the training plan will really build on that. It will have us covering between 6 and 10 km on the weekdays with a longer training session on Sundays. It should get us up to speed so that we can complete the 100K on our target - which is 20 hours or less. The average last year was between 24 and 26 hours.


We are looking to complete a 'warm up' walk in May. It's the Walk the Wight; a 27-mile walk across the glorious Isle of Wight in aid of the Isle of Wight Hospice. This will hopefully provide a boost to our training and show us where our weakness lie. 

John and Joseph will also be completing the 15 Peaks Challenge one month before the walk. This requires them to have been at the top of all 15 of the mountains over 3000 ft in Wales within the space of 24 hours, without using any form of transport.
So thank you for taking the team to read about our attempt and a big thank you to all of those who have donated.