Coast to Coast

They've done it..!

Click here for the lead up to the event...

...or read on for Ben Waite's excellent summary of the event.

Hello and firstly thanks for sponsoring me. So for I have raised just under £2000 with several promises of money depending upon completion so I am pretty confident of getting over my target which is great.

Now to the nitty gritty of the run.

It all started so well with glorious weather in Wallsend (apart from the extra mile myself and Paul Watson had to run to find some toilets as the local supermarket would not let us use theirs for "insurance" reasons!).

This is about 8.45 p.m. on Friday night when we were about to start, and start we did for about 100 meters when we realised all the maps were in the bottom of Paul's bag. So after a slightly aborted start we were off. The first 10 - 15 miles were running along the river through Newcastle and Gateshead and we were quite lucky in that the local party goers were still a few drinks short of giving us too much stick and only one local tramp chucked in the ever so funny "run Forrest run" line. 

The dark eventually descended and as we entered the countryside the head torches came out and it was a good job as even with them we almost fell into the river. Once away from the river when we had to actually read the maps it became clear that if we were to ever get to the end myself and Nick had to play no part in our route finding as mostly we were not even on the correct map but Mr Watson did very well and kept us on track through the night. The only down turn was at about 25 miles when the groin strain I have been hampered with flared up. A few Ibuprofen and some encouragement from the lads got me going again and in what seemed no time at all the sun was starting to come up and we were at our first check point.

Me looking looking far from cool (no caps fit my pin head!) and us setting off from our first stop about 33 miles in.

After about 20 minutes of frenzied feeding and restocking drinks we set off again (myself) happy in the knowledge that the worst of the hills were over (they were not). Not long before the stop I used all my climatological knowledge and stated that the weather looks great and I think we have hours of nice weather to run in. 20 minutes later we are in thick fog and dude to the only map reading error of the entire journey we ended up running 90 degrees away from the path in the fog into and through a marsh. A quick correction got us back on the right route and other than now having soaking wet feet we had only lost about 20 minutes so no real harm done.

The next 18 miles were pretty spectacular as the fog lifted we saw the main sections of the wall that are still complete (we even stopped to get pictures of the Robin Hood Prince of Thieves bit) and even ran along the wall for a while. Spirits were high, the weather was good, we were making great time and although the hill climbs were endless we all seemed to have plenty left in the tank. The long run in to the 51 mile point and stop 2 hurt a bit but we got there in just under 12 hours and were ready for some more food and a little sit down.

Nick even found enough energy to laugh (probably at his own joke) in what seemed only a few seconds, 30 minutes had passed and we had over stayed our welcome and badly needed to get on again and make some time up.

So in a short 5 mile section we put the pedal to the metal and made the distance in under an hour in time to meet my brother in law who was going to give us a bit of energy and accompany us for the last 28 miles.

Now it is fair to see that he did us a great service in helping us get to the end but things did all go wrong about 2 miles after he joined us. At 58 miles my right knee went, no idea what was wrong but I could no longer put any pressure on it and had to walk as fast as I could, then Paul turned his ankle and then the rain came.

The warm and cheerful people in the picture above were soon very cold very wet miserable people (myself and Paul) had foolishly left our jackets and hat in the car at the last stop and as a result were treated to 5 hours of shivering misery. The journey to the last stop felt like eternity with the maps lying about distance (it seemed) and progress being very slow.

So at 71 miles in we managed to dry off a little and put on some warmer clothes and set off for the final push.

People are not so happy now. We knew the last 14 miles stretch would be a painful toil but it was far worse. The wind picked up and we were soon soaked to the skin again and shivering uncontrollably, as Paul and myself could still not run we could not get warm and just got colder and colder. James was a great help from this point on, freezing cold himself he kept our spirits up and helped us maintain a pace that would get us finished in under 23 hours.

And finish we did in 22 hours 35 minutes. Soaked, freezing cold, drained, sleep deprived and in pain but HAPPY.

All that was required was some drinks.

Hope that was not too dull or wordy for you all. Paul Watson will at some point have many more pictures and some video to download and make available (I warn you the language on the video may be a touch blue).

Apart from my fellow runners I would also like to thank my brilliant wife Sarah who drove about 500 miles hardly sleeping in order to support us in this madness and who has had to put up with my training for the last 6 months as well. Also thanks to all mine and Nick's family who came to cheer us along and generally keep us going through the bad times.

Thanks again for you support.

All the best

Ben

Nick Turnbull and Ben Waite will be running the 85 miles of the Hadrian’s Wall Path in a single day on Saturday 21st June 2008 to generate funds to build a 12 bed day ward extension to the Clinic recently opened at Kadzinuni. (Paul French has unfortunately had to withdraw due to injury - hope you get fit again soon, Paul). HOWEVER, we have a new runner - Paul Watson - who will be joining them on 21st.

The Friends of Kadzinuni is approaching the end of its 5th financial year with a record of nearly £23,000 raised this year. However, we continue to look forward and are proud to confirm that two young men are attempting a huge test of stamina in June by running, yes running, the whole length of Hadrian's Wall, some 85 miles, in a single day. The team is being led by Ben Waite, Nic's nephew and grandson of Kendrick Seller in whose memory the clinic at Kadzinuni is dedicated. Ben and his friend Nick Turnbull are from the Greater Manchester area and will be seeking sponsors themselves locally. We are hoping that their efforts will raise enough money for us to build and equip the 12 bed day ward extension to Kendrick's Clinic.

Ben was also a member of our Nottingham Robin Hood Marathon Team in 2006.

Keep an eye on this page over the next few months to see how the preparations and sponsorship are going. And remember, if you Gift Aid your sponsorship using the Justgiving website the Friends will get an extra 25% at no cost to yourself.

We've teamed up with to allow us to more effectively manage donations and sponsorship for events like this.

You can be assured that this is a very cost-effective way for the Friends of Kadzinuni to manage your donations.