Harry Petheram has recently completed the South West Coast to Coast Ultra Challenge to raise funds for the RSPCA’s Somerset West Hatch wildlife centre.
Talking to Burnham-On-Sea.com, he says: “The South West Coast To Coast Challenge was a real roller coaster. 28.5 hours of highs and lows, and physical and mental challenges.”
“After three months of training the time had come and upon arrival, the atmosphere was great and everyone was raring to go. Soon it was time for me to enter the starting pen for a quick warm up and a safety briefing.”
“The first hour flew by as we headed out of Minehead, along the streets and seafront towards Exmoor and Dunkery Beacon. The weather soon took a turn for turn for the worse though.”
“We had torrential rain, thunder and lighting and no shelter. At this point I hit a bit of a low.”
“My boots were wet through, my waterproof jacket was soaked and my waterproof trousers had been torn after getting caught and I was really feeling the cold.”
“The next rest stop was still a three-hour hike away, so it’s safe to say i wasn’t feeling very optimistic.”
“Shortly after leaving the rest stop things had started to improve. I managed to dry off a bit and felt a bit warmer. It was still raining but the weather was improving. My only continuing problem was having very wet feet until dry clothes arrived at Tiverton, which was some 10 hours later.”
“The first half was very hilly and challenging, with 5,705 feet of climbing. This wasn’t helped by the poor visibility and challenging terrain.”
“I arrived at Tiverton feeling good, knowing it was 53km in the bag and that the second half was going to be a lot flatter.”
“I was getting prepared to camp the night as I had originally planned, but after a hot meal and drink, a sports massage and treatments and a change of clothes I was feeling more energised and didn’t want to lose my motivation. Because of this, I decided to carry on walking through the night without camping.”
“Although it was flatter, the second half was a lot more technical with darkness. There were fallen trees, rocks, bogs, rivers, streams, low branches and lots of mud. The route was lit up with glow sicks and reflective arrows to follow.”
“At around 2am it became more of a mental challenge and Exeter felt like a long way away. The legs were feeling heavy and the advice I received was not to think about Dawlish, but to think about each upcoming rest stop for food and cakes!”
“Whilst trying to focus on this, iI took a wrong turn which definitely didn’t help my motivation. I managed to figure out my mistake by using the OS map on my phone, and soon came across other head torches in the distance.”
“Listening to the wildlife helped to take my mind off things and kept me going through this difficult point.”
“5.45am in the morning and dawn had risen – I’d arrived at the Exeter rest stop in time for breakfast, where I was spoilt for choice. I chose pizza and potato wedges which went down a treat.”
“Another five hours passed, and I was only five miles from the finish line, however I was close to calling it a day and giving up. With blistered feet, I was unable to continue until a dose of pain killers kicked in.”
“It was at this point that I really needed encouragement, and luckily it was then that I met some fellow walkers whose names I can’t remember. They gave me the boost that I needed to be able to finish the event.”
“I owe them my thanks, because they stayed with me whilst I tried to find the motivation to keep going. They insisted that I could do it, and offered to stay with me until the end.”
“Feeling more uplifted, at 12.13pm I finally crossed the finish line after 28 long hours and 45 minutes.”
“Since returning home and resting, I have had to make a trip to A&E. As expected, I have some aches and pains and have been struggling to walk.”
“At the hospital I was diagnosed with shin splints, caused by the strain of the event but despite all of this though I am ecstatic to have raised £1,600 for my workplace, the RSPCA at West Hatch.”
“A huge thank you for all the support and donations!”
