Oxfam 100 – 2015 by Nick & Heather
In June, Nick and 3 team mates joined 800 others for the Oxfam 100km walk in Brisbane. Participants have 48 hours to complete the walk which includes creek crossings, decent elevation and postively ARCTIC weather overnight…
Well, after just 24 hours and 46 minutes, Paul, Steve, Oscar and Nick crossed the finish line together (many teams finish with a few missing members). Excited family and friends were there with lots of provisions (lunch, cake and beer!) and hugs, witness not just to sore legs and sleep deprivation but also great relief and elation at their brilliant first effort.
In fact, they made it look easy! What wasn’t as easy were the months of training and preparation. Many early morning starts heading into the mist on Mount Glorious and surrounds (helps to live close to the course), some overnight practice and a great deal of discussion on strategy, timings, food and of course <drum roll> how to avoid chafing and blisters which could mean the end of the walk.
This was one of the reasons Nick was keen to do this race – aside from being for a great cause and a massive physical challenge, it was also a perfect way to test the Skin Strong antichafe range!
So, the Brisbane walk is over serious terrain through the D’Aguilar Range, from Mount Glorious to Mount Coot-tha. There were 17 creek crossing (flowing for training, dry for the race!), some scrambling and 100km to push through. Nick’s aim was to get through without his body getting in the way (as the Skin Strong tag-line goes):
“Well, I can report back that is really is possible to do this distance with no chafing or blisters. My strategy was simple – liberal amounts of DUST in the socks to start, more at 45km then new socks and more DUST at 60km to push on to the line! We managed the walk without wetting our feet which was a massive help and DUST really did it’s job. It wicked away any moisture, prevented hot-spots and kept bacteria at bay. My feet at the end (see pic on facebook) – although obviously tired – were completely blister free! I have to add that choice of footwear is significant too – I choose a brand with a wide toe box and these worked well too.
SLATHER came in useful around the base of my neck to stop my rucksack rubbing.”
So there you have it – top performance all round, from both walkers and Skin Strong chafe protection products helping get across the line!
