It's over.

Hello everyone! It's Katy here! I hope my husband has been keeping you entertained in my absence.

So, that walk then. It was quite long, wasn't it? I have to say that it didn't feel as long as it was though.

Sure there were moments when I felt really incredibly down, but every time I did there was someone there to cheer me up and get me going again. Even my incredibly painful ankles (which started hurting just a few hours in) couldn't stop me, and once dawn broke there was no doubt in my mind that I would cross the finishing line. OK, not in the 24 hours I had hoped for but after 27 hours and 11 minutes of non-stop walking.

Once home I survived for a few hours of my celebration party before falling asleep on the sofa and having to be led upstairs to bed at 6.45pm. I had an awesome 14 hours of sleep, but am starting to feel nappish all over again now.

Here are a few photos from the end. I think there are some more floating around out there, so there might be a couple more picture posts to come.

I crossed the finishing line at Woolwich, 27 hours and 11 minutes after setting off.


This is what more than a day on your feet will do to your ankles -
they are so swollen that they have bruised themselves.

I want to say special thanks to all of my lovely walk volunteers: Clairey, Ollie, Mel, Filiz, Jo, Emma, Ed, Ewan, Linzi, Edd, Carla, Michael, Lizzy, Dani, Pippa, Bec, George and Paul. Without you guys cheering me on I know that I could not have completed even half of it.

I also want to say an extra special thank you to my Mum and my fantastic husband David. They both provided wonderful support running up to and during the walk, and for David that's now extended to bringing me cups of tea while I rest my swollen legs.

Thank you, thank you everyone.

One week to go...

This time next week I will be hopefully be finishing the biggest journey of my life.

At the moment I've been far too busy organising all the extra arrangements to make it go smoothly to get too nervous (except when I'm asleep - I'm still having those dreams) but I'm sure I'll be shaking as we set off.

Thanks to everyone who has helped me get this far: all the support, offers of help and, of course, donations have reminded me why I'm doing this and given me a boost whenever I've doubted myself. Here's to next week!

A bit of a breather. And some runners.

Hello! Before I get into this post, I've got a little bit of walk business to attend to.

By now everyone who was interested in walking with me should have received an email with walk timings. If you didn't and you're interested in joining, or you know someone else who would like to ramble with me, leave a message here for me and I'll pass the details on.

It's now just 10 days to the walk and the nerves are starting to set in. I'm finding myself waking up in the middle of the night worrying about little details just as much as big problems. My favourite theme seems to be anxiety dreams about finding locked toilets. Or searching out a secluded spot for a wee only to find someone peering out of a window. Disturbing.

Anyway, that wasn't really what I wanted to write a post about (I really don't think you need to hear about my imagined bladder concerns, but oh look, you have now). I really wanted to talk about these two:



Clairey and Lizzy ran the London marathon on Sunday and I went along as part of a little cheer leading squad. For Lizzy (handily marked out by having her name written on her chest) this was a first time marathon, for Clairey (similar handy markings) the second in 8 days.

Both did wonderfully at something that I can't even imagine doing. Honestly, for all the anxiety dreams and bitten nails that this walk has prompted, the mere thought of running a couple of miles (let alone 26.2 miles) sets off the tremors.

Anyway, I'm very pleased that Clairey will be joining me for a few sections of the walk next weekend, and hopefully Lizzy will be able to pop by for a little bit too. Maybe I can steal some of their stamina!

Behind as usual.

In an attempt to organise myself ready for the walk, I've spent this afternoon turning the big map on my wall into a giant clock.



It's now divided up into sections of 3.1 miles - which is about the average distance I need to do in an hour to get me round the whole thing in 24 hours. It turned out that the route I've plotted is actually 74.56 miles.

From this I can now start letting my lovely volunteers know the approximate time and place that they will be able to find me. If you've volunteered, I'll be in touch in the next day or so to check in with you about this.

All of this should have been done long ago, but I'm pleased that it so far seems to be falling into place fairly simply.

Funny, I thought the walking would be the hardest part.

Sunshine!

It all feels pretty Spring-like out there right now. Or at least it does in London. It makes it so much easier to pull on my trainers and get out there when it's like this, and I've recently enjoyed a couple of walks where I haven't even needed to take a fleece.

More of this please, sun!

--
In volunteering news, I've just sent out an email to all those who have previously expressed an interest in walking with me. If you have not received this but would like to take part, or know someone else who would, let me know and I'll add you to the list! I'd love as many people as possible to join me.

Thanks and pictures and disappointment giving way to triumph.

Before I get on with the rest of the post, I just wanted to say thanks to everyone who has volunteered to help me with my walk in May. I'm really truly touched that you'd like to spend a bit of time with me walking the outskirts of London. I'll be in touch in the next week or so and we can start working out where everyone fits together.

Also, those who've made donations to my chosen charity - thank you too! You're making this all worthwhile!

---

Since I last posted, I've been out training a few times including a full day session last Sunday which saw me get lost, go on a 2 mile detour and have to cut it short by 4 miles. More on that later.

First though, I'd like to show you a photo which makes me giggle every time I see it.

I took this quick snap of a poster on Old Kent Road when I was out a couple of weeks back. You might need to enlarge it to see what I find so amusing. It reminds me of Kemp Folds.

Anyway, I see a lot of things that amuse me when I'm walking but rarely feel that I can stop to take a picture. Here's another one I saw, out and about on Sunday, somewhere near Petersham Nurseries in Richmond.

I saw that one just a few miles before I took a right turn off the Capital Ring path, got lost and had to phone my husband for directions. Getting into a right state, I managed to eventually get back on the right track, but had wandered for an extra 2 miles and was by this point pretty much soaked to the skin by the fine drizzle that had suddenly turned to rain.

After setting out with the aim of walking the near 22 miles of Capital Ring routes six to nine combined, I gave up at the end of route eight and went home. Pissed off. Cold. Miserable.

Thankfully I've got a lovely bunch of friends who, when they noticed my whiny Twitter/Facebook status update, essentially told me off for thinking that 'only 18 miles' was not good enough. That's me in my place then. I promise I won't do it again. For a bit.

Anyway, undeterred I'll be off out again this weekend to get that 22-miler under my belt. Onwards and upwards.

The first request...the first proper call for volunteers!

I'm looking for volunteers to walk sections of the walk with me. I'm not just after super-walkers but also strollers, wanderers, explorers. Whether you can walk one mile, or 20, I need you to join me!

Here's a reminder of the route of the Capital Ring. I've currently planned for the walk to start in Woolwich at about 10am on Sunday 1st May 2011. I would anticipate being somewhere between Osterley Lock and Greenford before the sun is completely down. The next few sections will be walked relatively slowly and in the dark before, hopefully, arriving back at Woolwich by 10am on Monday 2nd May 2011 completing the Capital Ring and my challenge.

I'm going to need at least one person with me for every step of the way. This is largely down to safety, but a big part of it is about companionship and morale. Here is a short list of responsibilities.

• Keep me walking
  Most of this is going to be really tough for me. I'm going to need some moral support.
• Keep me on track
  Apparently I could be quite delirious towards the end of this, so I might need some help with maps and making sure I'm still going in the right direction. I'll make sure you have everything you need to do this. That's a map then.
• Keep me safe
  This links into the above. If I start going a bit loopy, please try to help me not walk into traffic.
• Keep me fed and watered
  I'll be giving you a little pack to bring along with you to your section. I can't carry all the water or food I'll need on this walk, so there will be some snacks and some drinks in there. There will be other things in there too, like maps. And torches if you're walking overnight with me.

At the moment I only need you to let me know that you're interested in helping - we can work out logistics once I've got some names together. But here are some things to think about...

How far can I walk?
I'm looking for people who can join me for any distance - a mile, a few miles, a whole marathon. But I need to know that you can do the distance you say you can.

Of course there might be unforeseen circumstances which mean that you can't make the miles you offer. I'm not going to make you keep walking if that happens! I'm just asking that you be realistic before we get started.

How fast can I walk?
I'm really not a brilliantly fast walker, but I'm hoping to average about 4mph. I'm likely to be walking faster at the start of the walk than at the end but of course that leaves the slow bits for overnight which, I appreciate, may not be your bag.

A lot of the route is suitable for bikes, so if it saves your legs and means you can join me for a few more miles you might want to consider that. Or one of those little push scooters. If you want to do this with a bike, let me know and I'll let you know which sections definitely rule this out.

Can I offer to be on call?
There will be mishaps: people will miss trains, blisters will rub, promises will be forgotten. But I will still need at least one person with me for every step of the way.

If you are someone who can come and take over another person's leg at short notice, let me know which sections you can cover and how far you're prepared to walk. I'll give you as much notice as possible and won't expect you to travel across the city at the speed of light.

Still interested?
Leave me a comment or drop me at email with your contact details: kateward@quitecommon.com