Author Topic: Hadrian's Wall in 3 days- Advice!  (Read 3025 times)

MrsBradshaw

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Hadrian's Wall in 3 days- Advice!
« on: 12:54:57, 30/03/17 »
Hi there,


I am looking for some advice.  I am going to attempt to walk Hadrian's wall in 3 days for a charity I am working with.  I am 27, generally fit and run around 5km most days however I have not done a long distance walk of this nature before.  I have just downloaded a training guide which while pretty grueling I think will stand me in good stead for it.  I am really looking fro some advice from seasoned long distance walkers on preparing, planning and any other tips! 


Thanks in advance!  :)

sussamb

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Re: Hadrian's Wall in 3 days- Advice!
« Reply #1 on: 13:09:48, 30/03/17 »
I try to do one LDW a year.  I simply train by upping my normal mileage a bit, so do around 10 miles a couple of times a week, the key being to carry a representative pack weight.  I start that regime about 4 months prior to the start of the walk, and aim to choose routes with as much climb as possible.  If you are normally a runner you certainly need to start carrying pack weight.
Where there's a will ...

tonyk

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Re: Hadrian's Wall in 3 days- Advice!
« Reply #2 on: 13:50:50, 30/03/17 »
Its 84 miles long so its basically three marathons over three days.Sounds a lot but in reality it is quite easy provided you are not pushed by cut-off/check point times.Running 5km per day is quite adequate to build up aerobic fitness but you also need to do long walks at weekends to build up leg strength,say 15 miles building up to 32 miles over a period of a few months.Once you can comfortably do 25 miles you can then do two 20-25 milers back to back.Once you can do a couple of days back to back its easy to extend the activity into three days or more.Its more of a confidence builder than anything else.Completing a walk of this nature has more to do with being able to cope with hours on your feet than being super fit.

 The walk has plenty of ups and downs so make sure you do plenty of hill work during your daily training runs.This can be intervals on a short hill.

sussamb

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Re: Hadrian's Wall in 3 days- Advice!
« Reply #3 on: 15:47:15, 30/03/17 »
Personally I don't see the need to do that sort of mileage.  As you say, it's more of a mind issue and being able to keep going.  I was always taught to train at half distance for longer events, clearly not sensible for something like a hundred metre sprint  :)


Certainly though hill work is important, as Tony says there are lots of us and downs along the wall.
Where there's a will ...

tonyk

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Re: Hadrian's Wall in 3 days- Advice!
« Reply #4 on: 17:18:45, 30/03/17 »
Personally I don't see the need to do that sort of mileage.  As you say, it's more of a mind issue and being able to keep going.  I was always taught to train at half distance for longer events, clearly not sensible for something like a hundred metre sprint  :)




 The mind has to be conditioned by putting the body through it.If you have an Armed Forces background or have trained in sports at a reasonable level there is no need to really push too hard in training as you already have an idea of how you will act when things start to get tough.I was referring to training for the novice rather than the experienced walker.

bricam2096

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Re: Hadrian's Wall in 3 days- Advice!
« Reply #5 on: 18:59:46, 30/03/17 »
I did it 2 years ago in 5 days and found it quite easy, apart from the Pennine Way section (but that was at the end of a long day).

You could do it in 3 days as could I but why do that and not enjoy the experience? Not as nice when you're not taking in time to enjoy your surroundings and scenery as it's head down and plod away  O0
LDWs done - 32 in total including 16 National Trails and 3 C2C

Wainwrights 176
www.brians-walks.co.uk

sussamb

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Re: Hadrian's Wall in 3 days- Advice!
« Reply #6 on: 19:53:43, 30/03/17 »
The mind has to be conditioned by putting the body through it.If you have an Armed Forces background or have trained in sports at a reasonable level there is no need to really push too hard in training as you already have an idea of how you will act when things start to get tough.I was referring to training for the novice rather than the experienced walker.


Point taken, you may be right ... Long time since I was a novice  ;D
Where there's a will ...

fishingbadger

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Re: Hadrian's Wall in 3 days- Advice!
« Reply #7 on: 10:17:23, 31/03/17 »
Me and 3 mates done it in 4 days travelling from East to West. We used a baggage company to transfer our gear every day so we only had to carry our daysacks. They reckon it's easier travelling West to East as you have the prevailing wind behind you. The one thing you might have to watch out for is blisters, especially at each end of the walk. Travelling from the West it's a long flat road section to start with, and then a long flat section through Newcastle at the end. Make sure you have the right footwear to cover both the off- road and road sections.

Slogger

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Re: Hadrian's Wall in 3 days- Advice!
« Reply #8 on: 16:18:12, 31/03/17 »
Not the sort of thing you can rush into. Ok you can try, like I did and go from never walking beyond 33 miles to walking 77 miles non stop. A learning curve it is, and I agree strongly with Tony, you've got to train your mind to have the mental strength to carry on when your body really wants to stop. The only way of doing that is to walk long distances.
You can walk at a very easy pace in order to just cover 28 miles a day, the best way to do that is to extend the hours you will walking. start really early, if you walk for 14 hours (moving time) that's only 2mph, leaving you 10 hours rest/sleep.

BlaBla

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Re: Hadrian's Wall in 3 days- Advice!
« Reply #9 on: 11:41:58, 15/08/18 »
Hello - I read this post before walking Hadrians. We were 3 (experienced) scandinavian walkers who did the Bowness - Wallsend in 3 days.
 I was surprised at this discussion: 84 miles breaks down to 28 hours at 3 miles/hr.
Here is a photoseries from our walk turl.no/1y6f   
At 136 km that is three marathon-length days (we did the Waendel walks the weekend before, which is 26 mi/d and the UK IML, 2 days in Wellingborough and then 3 days on Hadrians, altogether 230 km in 5 days walking). imlwalking.org/index.php?page=members/Wellingborough.html
So once you are trained for the 26 mi, it is quite comfortable to do this distance in 3d (10 + 8 + 10 hrs). 
(2 x 14 hrs is more arduous - you would have to get up early).
We walked West - East stopping at Haltwhistle, then a shorter day with visit to Vindolanda through the national park, stopping at Chelmsford. Then past Newcastle to Segundum day 3. Also added Wallsend- North sea(10 mi) to complete the coast-to-coast the following morning, did the visitors centre, diplomas etc.
« Last Edit: 19:38:18, 15/08/18 by BlaBla »

 

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