AW: By Mile eight my mum was starting
to struggle but she wanted to carry on;
after about 20 minutes resting we set off
again but it was not long until my mum
wanted to change into her hiking boots
to see if they provided more support to
her legs. She was in so much pain but
at this stage neither going back to mile
eight or heading on to mile 16 seemed
to have an advantage. We carried on
and I walked ahead to catch up with
the paramedic, who had flown past us
earlier, to find out what our options might
be if mum couldn’t carry on. It wasn’t
long after this that the cavalry, in the
form of my sister, her fiancé and my fourweek old nephew came and picked mum
up. This left my dad and me to continue
on. We stopped for a quick bite to eat
but were not really hungry so opted for
energy sachets and ploughed on after
topping up the sun cream.
EP: With the sight of a steep set of steps
ahead at mile 17, and in a bid to motivate
us further we began to play some music
through the speakers in my rucksack - I
am still not sure whether it was Psy’s
‘Gangnam Style’ or the painkillers that
got us through the next three miles
laughing and even running some parts
of the course! The frivolities came to a
grinding halt at mile 20 when we both
realised that all seven of the seven sisters
were ahead, a feat that for some reason
we had not accounted for. This was no
longer a walk; it was a mountainous trek.
For those that have walked this route,
you will know that the second and sixth
of the “sisters” are the most dramatic
climbs and descents. The descents were
now more painful as with every step it
was as if our toes were being bashed
with an iron mallet! To make matters
worse, on the sixth descent I also
realised I was getting very noticeable tan
lines – cue small breakdown.
AW: To reinforce Emma’s sentiments The
Seven Sisters are very beautiful to look at
and on some days would make a lovely
walk. After 19 miles, however, and when
your feet and legs are starting to feel as
though they will fall off, there is nothing
enjoyable about them. After the fourth
‘sister’ I didn’t even care about taking a
picture of the view, I thought I might cry
if I stopped so we just kept carrying on.
Not only were they steep, the landscape
was dramatic all-round and now as well
as going up, the land was sloping to the
right! They really are mean ladies; they
test out your fitness and lower body
strength as you clamber to the top and
then send shooting pains up your shins
when you have to make your way back
down, only to then repeat seven times
over! With my ankle feeling as if were
going to snap right off, and no end in
sight for miles, I think it is clear to see I
did not enjoy the time I spent with these
testing sisters!
EP: At long last the sisters came to
an end and Burling Gap gleamed like
a beacon of hope at us. The photo of
Matt and me with the Macmillan frame
was taken not long after “#tangate” at
mile 22, the last of the three rest stops.
Knowing we still had our last steep climb
to tackle, Matt gave me a firm (but fair)
pep talk and we set off again for the last
four miles, tan-lines and all. We reached
the top of Beachy Head, and were
very tempted to stop for a swift one,
but soldiered on to the great descent
into Eastbourne. Feet and ankles now
throbbing, we hobbled down the last mile
of hills and crossed the finish line, hand
in hand with a lovely man who at the age
of 65 almost put us to shame! Our times
were 8 hours and 55 minutes, which put
us in the top six and I actually beat Matt
by five seconds (!)
AW: The stretch from mile 25-26 was
the longest mile ever, and my dad,
supportive till the very end, escorted me
down the hill and finally we had made it
to ‘normal’ ground! As we entered Helen
Gardens, the Macmillan team were there
with microphones, music, medals and
champagne. I cannot actually explain the
feeling I felt when I crossed that finish
line with my dad. We sat down and took
a few celebratory selfies, ditched our
champagne and awaited our lift from my
mum who had gone back to Brighton
and collected the car. She hobbled out
to meet us and the emotions rose