Trailtrekker 2011: Dales trekkers face challenge second to none

Trailtrekker 2010 coverage with videos and blog

Now you have the chance to walk 100km non-stop around the peaks and troughs of England's second largest National Park – all in the name of charity.

Oxfam's Trailtrekker is one of Europe's most taxing challenges and the 2011 event is launched today in partnership with The Yorkshire Post.

Seriously sore limbs are likely and blisters are guaranteed and 24 hours of sleep deprivation is the bare minimum, but whatever a hiker's experience, Trailtrekker is a great challenge and great fun and the chance to help earn thousands of pounds for a great cause.

This is the third year the event has been running and previous trekkers describe completing the 62-mile round trip as a life-changing experience – exhausting, emotional and incredibly rewarding.

Rosemarie Utley, who completed the walk at this summer's event, said it was the hardest thing she had ever done, but she would highly recommend it to anyone.

Coming from this particular 60-year-old, that is some statement.

She has raced more than 100 marathons around the world, taken part in five ultra-marathons – courses in excess of 26 miles performed cross-country – and completed two 50-mile runs.

Yet still Mrs Utley said that walking from Skipton, up the 391 steps of Malham Cove and 694m peak of Pen-y-Ghent, back through Deepdale and passed Kettlewell in little more than a day was her most demanding trial to date.

"It's the biggest challenge I've done," said Mrs Utley, a semi-retired accountant for Guiseley-based architects Watson Batty. "By the time I got to Buckden (around 70km into the trek) my feet were so bad I could feel the blisters. At the checkpoint the medical crews peeled my socks off and the podiatrist had to come and pop them."

Despite the physical toll, Mrs Utley is glad she entered Trailtrekker, with the glorious weather during the day and the magical setting at night-time her favourite memories.

"At no time did I not want to do it. We all enjoyed it, I'd recommend it to any one. It was warm and sunny all day and at night it was pitch black and you couldn't see a thing. But organisers hang these little glow sticks on trees and stiles."

Organisers today called for entrants to sign up to the 2011 event, to be staged over June 4 and 5, and said that this year for the first time shorter routes had been drawn up to encourage even more participants.

Next year's Trailtrekker will include bronze and silver finish lines at 38.6km and 64.9km respectively, with those making the full 100km given a gold award.

Hikers must compete in teams of four and collect at least 1500 in sponsorship.

At this year's event a staggering 270,000 was raised by 537 hardy walkers and it is hoped next year the trek will be even bigger and better.

Oxfam distributes all the money to help counter poverty and suffering worldwide.

Mrs Utley recognised the poignancy of doing a walk of this size for those in need.

"We do this for fun but there are those who have to walk long distances just to get fresh water," she said.

Gavin Loughlin, a novice hiker, who also completed the course in June this year, said the walk was "fantastic."

He added: "The atmosphere is really friendly and there is a great mood."

Mr Loughlin is the branch manager of the Oxfam shop in Skipton and confessed he had "never really done much walking" before taking the 100km plunge.

But the 33-year-old said: "I would recommend it to anybody. It's not something to be taken lightly, though. We trained for six months and did 10 miles in the snow in late December. Our last training walk around 50 miles, then we had a break for a month before the event."

Named The Tresspassers – "because we always seemed to be stumbling on private property while training" – Mr Loughlin's team, which included Iain Connell, Alice O'Neill and Justin Gartland, finished the course in 29 hours. "I enjoyed watching the sun rise but it was difficult at about 6.30am. There was a period of about 10km when every step was really hard. But seeing all the volunteers, with the talcum powder and blister packs, was really amazing."

Mrs Utley's team finished in a speedy 24 hours and 43 minutes.

This is the third year The Yorkshire Post has been partner.

Burning away the calories

New for the 2011 Oxfam Trailtrekker are two shorter challenges to complement the full 100km experience.

People can get a bronze award by finishing at 40km, while those ending at 64km are given silver.

Hikers will burn a lot of calories while on the trek. Walking 100km (about 62.5 miles) at a rate of three miles per hour (completing Trailtrekker in 25 hours) will burn 5925 calories.

This is the equivalent of eating:

312 x pieces of chocolate (at 19 calories per piece)

60 slices of pizza (at 98 calories per slice)

32 bags of crisp (at 184 calories per bag)

15 curries (at 396 calories per portion)

10 portions of chips (at 600 calories per portion)

6 English breakfast fry ups (at 977 calories per portion)

Efforts bring global benefits

The 270,000 raised in the 2010 Trailtrekker could have helped Oxfam's work around the world by:

Feeding 38,000 families in the aftermath of a major crisis. Food is a priority for crisis-hit families and Oxfam provides essential supplies including grain, beans and oil to keep everyone going until normality is restored.

Training 10,000 teachers. Quality teaching can make a world of difference and Oxfam helps by giving training in modern classroom techniques.

Providing 24,000 mosquito nets. Oxfam's mosquito nets come complete with training to make sure families use them correctly.

Providing 24,500 chickens. A chicken gives a family a little egg factory that will also produce chicks for rearing or trading to pay for school fees and health care.