Challenge Sophie

THE KINABALU CHALLENGE, BORNEO

2009-01-01T11:27:00.001-08:00

PRIDE TRIUMPHED OVER PAIN

TEAM 11 CAME IN 2ND PLACE!

Mount Kinabalu, Borneo 4100 m

I have been struggling to find the words to describe The Kinabalu Challenge.

Every time I think of where to start and what to say I am confronted with the most fantastic whirlwind of action, colours, emotion, pain, the jungle, laughing, intense excitement, mud, sweat and pounding heart rates, the mountain, sea as warm as a bath, helicopter riding into the jungle and achievement... that I find myself engulfed in the memories.

Minutes later I realise I became lost in the memories of one of the most challenging, rewarding and fun weeks of my life. I also realise that although I have not managed to acquire the knowledge as to how I should write about my experience, I have a got a big smile on my face.

As great as this is, it has left me in a position where I feel there is only one way for me to write this:

IN NO PARTICULAR ORDER

THE HIGHLIGHTS

1. Remembering what my cousin Rory had said to me before I left England - "Don't leave anything behind" (... and we're not talking about material posessions) Putting this into practise, giving it all I had, taking on the jungle and ensuring that Pride Triumphed over Pain!

2. The feeling on the 1st day of the race driving around Borneo, sandwiched in between the mountains in the sea, the excitement and anticpiation of what we were going to be doing, right at the very start of it all.

3. The South China Sea.

4. Coming strong through the finish line of the first race, a 4km bike run which left me feeling hotter than I ever imagined I would feel, but with the first taste of the recurring and continually intensified sense of achievement I would feel throughout the week.

5. BEING HELICOPTERED INTO THE JUNGLE.

6. Waking up spontaneously with the moon casting a clear white light over the jungle in the middle of the night and whispering team tactics for the following day's race with Chloe before crashing out in my hammock again.

7. Trekking out of the jungle and the start of another one of the best days of my life.

8. Competing in a series of events that involve running through the jungle, through padi fields, Malay villages with children jumping up and down cheering us on, across rope swing bridges, past waterfalls, up a mountain that looked like it belonged in Lord of the Rings and on towards each finish line, and landing in second place!

9. Coming in 2nd place.

10. Having cheesecake delivered to a huge bath in a suite in a 5* hotel.

11. The after race party and the massages I had the day after to ease the pain from the race.

12. Arriving at Laban Rata (3/4 of the way to the summit of Mount Kinabalu) knowing I had physically and mentally exerted everything I had into the challenge and that the race was now finished.

13. Chilling on my own during the push to the summit, the first time I had the time to reflect on the week that had been. Arriving at the summit minutes before sunrise....

Actually making it to the top of the highest mountain between Papa New Guinea and the Himalayas.

14. Returning from the summit to descend the mountain and reach the hotel and after race party, wondering if we would ever make it below the cloud line again...

15. Arriving at the hotel at the end of the race dumping all my dirty smelling jungle gear on the balcony, having an amazing shower surounded my marble and mirrors. After the shower once clean putting my bath robe and slippers on and chilling out on my balcony overlooking the South China Sea. Then I phoned home to break the good news and the communication blackout.

16. The general shenanigans after the race that proceeded to unfold in Borneo. Predominantly centered around the pool bar.

Kinabalu Challenge, Borneo 2008 Itinerary

2008-11-13T04:36:00.001-08:00

Kinabalu Itinerary - November 08 Challenge

DAY ONE (Friday 14th November)

Fly from London Heathrow.

DAY TWO (Saturday 15th November)

Arrive at Kota Kinabalu late afternoon. Kayak training and swim test (200m). Sundowners in the beach bar followed by staff introductions and overnight in a comfortable hotel near the city.

DAY THREE (Sunday 16th November)

Basic jungle training and practice in survival skills, general safety and briefings on the event and cultural issues. On the evening before the race starts, teams will prepare for an early departure the following morning, selecting their equipment and preparing their strategy for the challenge.

DAY FOUR (Monday 17th November)

The race starts. Teams leave the jungle training camp on a 4km run along the side of a jungle river. There will be a couple of river crossings along the way. The run finishes at a school where you will rendezvous with a helicopter and then be flown into the jungle. Met by jungle experts and local guides, there is a short trek before you set up camp for the night, building your own shelters and preparing your own meals.

DAY FIVE (Tuesday 18th November)

Early rise to pack up camp and trek out of the jungle (not a race) to the road to begin the first bike/run which is approx. 6km (two mountain bikes per team of four) down to the river where the support team will be waiting with your lunch followed by white water rafting race down the Kiulu river, a grade 2 descent back to the jungle camp.

DAY SIX (Wednesday 19th November)

Teams will be up at first light to travel downstream along the Kiulu River in team built bamboo rafts. This is followed by a 9km bike-run before lunch. In the afternoon teams will be given a two-man kayak for the kayak relay race, possibly the toughest part of the challenge. Teams will be met by minibus at the finish and taken to Mount Kinabalu base camp.

DAY SEVEN (Thursday 20th November)

Teams begin the ascent of Mount Kinabalu (4,100m), resting at nightfall at the Rest Camp, Laban Rata (three quarters of the way to the summit) where the race finishes.

DAY EIGHT (Friday 21st November)

At 2am we start for the final ascent to the summit for sunrise and the end of the Kinabalu Challenge. Descending the mountain, teams will be transferred to a luxury beach-side 5-star hotel for the awards ceremony and end of challenge party.

1 DAY TO GO!!!!!!! Team "PAIN IS TEMPORARY PRIDE LASTS FOREVER" goes to Borneo

2008-11-13T04:29:00.000-08:00

Well I am leaving for the jungle tomorrow! I get on my double decker plane to Borneo tomorrow and am really excited now. I have never been so prepared for anything, however I did have a quick glance at the itinerary last night and it scared me! I realised that there was a lot of hard, hot, wet graft to be done next week and I guess when you think 'that's what I'm going to be doing NEXT WEEK' not next month etc, it seems very real and full on.

I CAN'T WAIT!!

Fundraising updates - our CHALLENGE SOPHIE party was a huge success, thanks to everyone who came and had fun with us, but thank you most to my amazing Mum who put a phenomenal amount of effort in to the party, by hosting, planning, and hours and hours of making the most delicious jam in the world that everyone bought and is subsequently putting more orders in for!

We raised an addition £276 which is fantastic, so thanks again and thanks for reading this.

It's never too late to sponsor me now and throughout the rest of the year so please do if you want to.

I look forward to my first post after the challenge, hope you do too

3 Weeks until I leave to take on the jungle!

2008-10-25T10:11:00.000-07:00

3 Weeks to go, I am getting really excited now! Been working hard with my training over the last few months and really feeling the effects of that now.

The final stages of my preparation are coming into place such as buying kit to make sure I have everything I need in the jungle.

I think we have decided on a team name, team 11 is now called:

PAIN IS TEMPORARY, PRIDE LASTS FOREVER

As a team, we have encountered our first obstacle - Sotiris has torn a ligament in his knee. It's a pretty big obstacle but we're all in this together and we will find a way to work through it.

I feel ready, I will be ready and I can't wait to give it all I've got!

20th September Fitness Test Results

2008-09-23T00:50:00.001-07:00

For those of you who want to see my fitness results at this stage:                    

                          Result    Score

                      ------------  -------

 1.5km Run         6min 31sec    62

 Press ups (in 2 mins)  56 reps       92

 Sit ups (in 2 mins)    83 reps       96

 Burpees (in 2 mins)    41 reps      100

 Shuttle run            82 secs      100

                               -------

                         TOTAL       450/500

My score stood me at 7th out of 50 competitors going to Borneo, there was only 1 other girl who got a higher score than me, so I was pretty chuffed!

Sponsor Sophie for Breakthrough

2008-09-23T00:21:00.001-07:00

The 3 Peaks Challenge

2008-09-09T05:20:00.000-07:00

The 3 Peaks Challenge

Last weekend on the 5th of September I embarked on the 3 Peaks Challenge which involves climbing the 3 highest peaks in the UK within 24 hours. I have started a blog so anyone who is interested can see what this was all about, what I am currently doing and what I will be working towards achieving.

Friday 5th September 2008: 7am - caught the coach from London to Glencoe in Scotland arrived 7:30 pm. Assigned to rooms for the night, once all 80 challengers had arrived we had a full brief by Event Manager Crispin - my favorite gag of his aimed to entertain us was "if you get lost on the mountain stay in one place or we won't find you..." then after a quick scout around the questionning faces in the rooms he continued "actually, don't worry... we will find you". Nice one Crispin, I know we need to know the worst case scenario but after hearing about dehydration, deaths, blisters and "unpopular decisions being made" on the mountains this was...shall say an interesting consideration!

None of this phased me though, it was only the next morning on the way to the first mountain that the realisation of what I had got myself into started to kick in, big time.

Saturday 6th September 2008: 5am rise from our dormitories, eat as much breakfast as I could force myself to consume in the dark in the Scottish Highlands.

7am: the REALISATION STARTS TO KICK IN! We're on the way to Ben Bevis and I'm looking around at all the huge mountains none of which are as big as the one I had to climb. I suddenly thought, I have not climbed any mountains in my 23 years of living and now I HAD to climb 3 in 24 hours. Notice the boldness of the word "had", yes that's right there was no way I would let any of these mountains get the better of me. I reasoned with myself that it was ok because this was one of those things that I had to do...it would be over tomorrow and then would have done it and never have to do it again. Now I've accomplished this, I would do it all over again and here's why:

7:30 am: we start off in our group of 10 people and 1 Mountain Leader by the name of Glen. The pace was fine until people started wanting to stop, and couldn't! At the end of the day we weren't there to rest, we were there to climb and that we did. Resting was short and infrequent - about 1 minute rest every 45 minutes. I was so cold by the time I reached the summit of Ben Nevis and stood on the concrete slab that is the highest point in the UK, I couldn't feel my fingers and by-passed checking the time so I could start getting down the mountain quicker than I got up it.

None of the summits are places you want to hang around. And they are all in the clouds so you can't see anything either... sounds great doesn't it!

12:45 pm: Back to the base 10 mins rest, eat and toilet break time then back in the minibus to The Lake District and the next climb - Scafell Pike.

6pm: Mountain Leader Glen get's a call from Crispin (Event Manager) he informs us of the update Mountain Rescue have delivered on the weather conditions - 70 mph winds at the summit, -6 degrees and as the Guardian Paper headlines had predicted "2 weeks worth of rain over 2 days - South West England and wales to feel the brunt of the storms". Swallowing this news, I knew I could make it to the top and I was in experienced hands, but we were told that if one member of the group wanted to turn back whilst on the mountain we would all have to give up.

7:45pm I was hoping that some of the less fit and determined members of our group would heed this advice and decide not to go, but also unphased they came along. Encouraged by their Accountant boyfriends and not really understanding what they had agreed to, they soon realised the extent of the conditions we were faced with and wanted to turn back after 10 minutes, but we continued...

I'm not going to lie, the conditions were tough - driving rain that bites away at your face, wind that knocks you off your feet, pitch black darkness, the highest mountain in England to climb...

10pm: We reached check point 2 - 3/4 way to the top and got news on the radio that the conditions had worsened and now the Management Team had made the decision that everyone had to turn back. Trying to restore some morale to the less happy members of our group, Glen says "ok let's go back and get some Mc Donalds". All I wanted was to reach the summit, but one of the girls retorted in an uneccessarily sarcastic tone "I think that's the best thing you've said all day".

Absolutely gutted, we turned around and headed back to base consolled only by the fact that no-one had been allowed up and sometimes you have to give way to the forces of nature. In retrospect it would have been a massive drain on our fast depleting stores of energy and didn't make the challenge any less challenging by not being able to reach the summit.

12pm: By midnight we had been fed chilli con carne at the base of Scafell Pike in the rain, got into dry clothes and our minibus was ready to depart for Wales and the final mountain - Snowdon. As the minibus pulls away Nathan (event logistics and support) illuminated by the headlights and soaked through himself from having to stay there all afternoon and night ensuring the safety and feeding of 80 people says "thank you for coming to visit Scafell Pike... I realise there are many mountains you could have chosen to climb that would have been better options but we are happy you came...and good luck!"

Sunday 6th September 2008:

4:45am: As the minibus came to a halt in Wales the sliding door was pulled open and I was awoken by Crispin saying "Welcome to the most extreme 3 Peaks Challenge Ever", I appreciated the welcome but in my state of slumber I definitely didn't want to be a part of world I could see beyond Crispin and his massive poncho. There was rain, darkness, more wind and very wet shoes to be put on. And another mountain of course... I then took stock and told myself that I didn't sign up to this to be warm and dry and suddenly I was up for the challenge ahead once more. Afterall, once the wet shoes were on the worst part was over... nearly.

Head torch on, and FULL waterproofs on (or should I say 'imposter waterproofs' which later were described by one of my team as looking like "two very wet bin bags") we headed into the darkness of Snowdonia. Scrambling up rocks in Wales all I could see ahead and behind were clusters of little lights - tired people on the last leg of the challenge letting their Mountain Leaders and head lights lead the way to the final summit. At least I still had some energy in me to strike up good conversations and check in on the status of my team. The chat along with a bit of banter formed the silver lining of my very wet and dark cloud I was climbing through. Literally. The vast majority of the last climb was in a cloud, it did get lighter but maintained it's wetness throughout.

The one unifying factor for all 80 of us, was the solo thought guaranteed to be running through everyone's mind "I CAN'T BELIEVE I ACTUALLY PAID TO DO THIS..."

As the first light started peaking over the hills I could see silver slithers streaming down the sides of the hills. As we continued on my eyes could see more and I realised they were waterfalls that we had to walk through as we walked around the curve of the Horsehoe Lake. As I didn't get to see any of Scafell Pike in the light, I can only compare Snowdon to Ben Nevis. Snowdon is a lot more rocky with steep hillsides meeting each other at sharp angles, whereas Ben Nevis lays claim to expansive but steep green slopes that converge in a wide valley bottom.

Into the morning this seemed to be a mountain with many false summits, as we scrambled up more rocks, over more water streaming down rock faces, up further into the big white wet cloud encompassing half of Snowdon, encouraged by groups already on their way back to base having reached the summit. Glen offers his encouragment too "we're nearly there guys" again the moaner pipes up "umm can you please define nearly?" About 20 minutes love...

Anyway... we eventually got there. We climbed up to the highest point in Wales and again reached a concrete slab in a cloud. The feeling was fantastic but the challenge was not yet over we still had a good 2 1/2 hours down the mountains. Then I knew I would really feel the achievement.

9 am Sunday: We made it, back to base camp in Wales and the end of the 3 Peaks in one piece. For the last time we could take off our wet clothes and change into dry ones that would accompany us back home. It was only once I reached the end of the challenge that I was able to reflect on what we had done in 1 day, the sights, the experiences, the people I had met, the pain I had put myself through - that all culminated in the way I felt upon completion as we left Wales to return to London. It made me think if this is what I have achieved in 1 day, what else can I do...?

I loved the 3 Peaks Challenge and am pleased that I have now done it. As I said at the start of this, I would like to do it all over again this time with some of my friends and family to share such an amazing experience with and also with people who were of the same level of fitness as me or higher so that I could really push myself to the limit. If anyone thinks they are up for it let me know!

Now it's time for me to focus on my next challenge. Some of you may know that I am doing a race through the jungles of Borneo in November (about 2 months from now) for which I have been training for months. But I'll save that for another post...

Thanks for reading

Sophie