Mountain Katts: Mission accomplished and issuing our own challenge

YAY!

YAY!!

YAY!!!

We did it.

MP preparing.

After three months of planning, sweating, refining technique and motivating ourselves last Saturday we undertook our challenge. This was our challenge, not organised by someone else, but our own!

We had a plan of how our day was to go and we surprisingly beat it by about 30min. What we didn't know was just how hard it would push us outside our comfort zone. 14 hours and 49 minutes after leaving Apex Park in Wangaratta we made it to Bright. Completing our 84k challenge. It was a long, draining and VERY wet day (for the most part)... But one of the most rewarding experiences of our lives. And luckily, although wet, we bet the really cold and rainy weather that really set in on the Sunday. This would have made the 84k's even harder.

The day started with us waking on Saturday morning at 3.45am to prepare and do our stretches... And have our last relaxed bit of food before the run. Then at 4.50am we walked down to the start of the course and by 5.10am we were running... And the rest is history. We ran the first 40k to Bowman and then walked the second 44k (we ran at 10k per hour and then walked at 6k per hour). The run started auspiciously with JK taking a fall in the first 5k's earning him a grazed knees, hands and ego...

Getting ready... JK annoys MP!

At the starting line all lighted-up.

Thanks to Dora Kingsley, Michelle Kornberg and Loretta Garvey who were our support crews for the run. Dora and Michelle were support crew 1 and let's say they were a little geographically challenged (with 5 check-points to meet us at they made it to 1 no actually 2 on time) they may have got lost from time to time but we appreciated their efforts... Then Loretta, our country-lady come medical academic saviour took over... and guided us home for the last few legs of the day.

This challenge pushed us to our physical and emotional limits. For JK, at the end of the 40k run he was totally salt depleted, but with a little Gatorade and some salty biscuits, colour returned to his face. But then his feet started to feel bruised as he walked into Myrtleford and for a while he felt like he was going to pack it in at the 53k mark and withdraw injured. At his lowest, he felt like a failure... but MP's encouragement got him focused again! The problems were not all JK. As we left Myrtleford, it was MP's tough patch, still 30km to go... But with a little encouragement the endurance bunny was focused again!

However, the two of us faced some other very challenging moments with bouts of heavy rain. One just before Myrtleford, and the second, during the last 8km stretch from Eurobin to Porepunkah (1.5hrs) it rained heavily non-stop. In the last shower, we slogged through a really unpleasant soaking, that water-logged JK's shoes and created wetness in some unpleasant places that exacerbated JK's chaffing....

There were some other problems we had to deal with... In the second leg of our run, we had to avoid a herd of sheep being moved by a farmer (only jumping out of the way with split seconds before being mauled by the stampeding NZ favourites).

Also, we didn't follow some simple rules of undertaking such an endurance challenge. A simple example was not to try any food that you are not used to or have not used before or after a training session previously. For instance, we decided to have a protein bar in our first and second break... which, had a rather poo-inducing affect for both of us (MP a little worse than JK... lucky we ran with toilet paper in our packs).

We could recount the tough points, but it was a truly wonderful opportunity for us. There were many beautiful points. Such, as watching the kangaroos jumping ahead of us at dawn... And watching the alpine majesty as we ran towards Eurobin from Myrtleford. Not to mention the amazing bird life, (although we were suspicious that the kookaburras were laughing at us for all the wrong reasons). Beyond this, we ran and walked together without an argument or blow-up... not even 1! (this is because we invented an imaginary friend 'Anton' to accompany us and he bore the brunt of any misdirected anger).

The last two days we have been recovering. Our bodies were pushed, but we did not get any blisters or terrible chaffing (despite the comment before). Although we were a bit stiff and sore the following day... and maybe we walked like a couple of 80 year olds and had Loretta acting as our carer (luckily she's a trained nurse so adapted to the role perfectly) MP was also eyeing off one of those walkers older people use to get around and was contemplating tripping over a little old lady to get her hands on one!

But we are now both feeling pretty damn fine. A little walking (about 4k's) and some warm baths made us both feel great! Alright, we are a little sore still.

Thanks to Jared McClelland whose conditioning and training really prepared us for this challenge physically, but also he helped us work together as a team! We also wanted to thank Jake Moller and Chris Hogan for all their help with our training.

And a big thanks also for all of you for following our progress, contributing donations and being so supportive for us!

Now we have a challenge for you! We want to raise a few hundred dollars more to get to $3000. We have perspired and pushed ourselves... Now we are asking for those who haven't donated to please think about giving and to everyone who has generously given please forward this blog onto friends, families and colleagues. Lets get to $3000. This doesn't sound like a lot for us here, but we can make a real difference to children in Lombok's educational future!!!

We are closing donations this FRIDAY, 16 April 2010, @ 5pm! A final posting will be put up on Saturday with the final tally. So DONATE and tell your fiends!

Enjoy the photographs of us sweating (LOTS) and needing to call on our mental toughness (this was no one-hour workout in the comfort of a gym!).

Thanks for all of your support, Mountain Katts.