Brancaster to Wells (marshes, woods and beaches!)

So our second training walk was another resounding success. A few more people in the team made it this time and we really pushed ourselves to walk the entire distance at a really good pace.

Starting off at Brancaster initially seemed like it was going to be interesting, as the tide hadn't quite gone out far enough for us to reach the car park (meeting point!) and with Andy testing how deep the 'puddles' were in his parents BMW we were all deliberating what to do with our cars. Anyway, we found a little car park by the church which was a safe distance from the water and then a few of us power walked along the walking track to the toilets near the actual car park for fear of getting caught short (probably adding an extra mile onto our journey, but what's a mile when you're talking these distances!)

The initial couple of miles we were walking along a wooden decked pathway, past some stunning properties, most of which I pointed out that I would like to buy at some point in the future! Quite quickly we reached the quay where a couple of people had to apply blister plasters and some stocked up on cold drinks from the seafood shack in the car park.

At this point I really did feel for one of the team members daughters who came along with us, as I think she had started to get a couple of blisters and perhaps hadn't realised the pace we would be going. Poor girl, no complaints from her though, even with her 13th birthday the next day and the prospect of not being able to walk for most of it! Good on her though she carried on smiling as she went! She'll be leading teams on challenges like this in the future, no doubt about it!

So from here on we trekked, marching through the car park and along the pathway at Burnham-Overy-Staithe until we reached the bottom of one of the huge sand dune hills, where we stopped for a stretch, snack and drink. Or if you're Gill, Carolyn or Ian a climb and descent of the dune hill, just for fun! ;-)

Next up it started to get a bit hilly in the sand followed by a bit of craziness and running up and down bracken and twig covered mounds in the woods (I was going to say hills but it wouldn't be strictly true, hills for Norfolk perhaps?). I think here we were all letting out our inner child and perhaps some of us pretending we were in the army, although I saw no rolling around the floor! (what a missed opportunity, next time perhaps!)

We came out of the woods at Holkham and pitched up on the beach for lunch, just in front of one of the  bigger dunes and looking out to sea. Ahhh perfect, or so you would think... After a couple of minutes of tucking into our sandwiches we realised that we had picked to sit in the nudist area and spotted a few human meerkats up on the dunes letting it all hang out. Yum, nothing like enjoying your picnic!

We didn't stop for as long as expected, all keen to carry on and get to Wells (or the pub at Wells!). So from here we walked between the dunes and the woods, alongside a channel of water. Some crossed it in their boots, other more sensible people had sandals on and went bare foot and others of us stayed on the right side of it, treading through the marshes and jumping the odd hole! Hmmm, not sure which was the right choice really but nobody got too soaked and apart from muddying untreated boots it was a really hot day so the water would have probably been a blessing!

At Wells we skipped back into the woods for a bit more running around before reaching the car park and much needed toilet stop. Finally we were on the last section of the walk along from the beach car park to the quay and Wells town centre, where we indulged in ice creams on the way to the pub for a celebratory (any excuse!) cold beverage or two!

The total distance covered was 14.5 miles and we managed it in 4 hours and 15 minutes, a fantastic pace of 17:43 per mile! Wow, what will we manage this weekend in Suffolk again with a strut like this on...

The First Group Three Peaks Training Walk (April 2013)

Just a bit of a recap on the first of our planned group 'Three Peaks' training walks. The second one of which is just days away and I had meant to write this a while back to hopefully tempt more of you into joining us for the walks, as even if you're not actually taking on the main challenge in August it would be fabulous to have as many people join as on the training walks as possible...

So the walk commenced in Lowestoft, where we all met in a car park, some of us never having seen each other in the flesh before, so a quick introduction all round, and then pretty much raring to go (ok maybe 'raring' is exaggerating it slightly!)

We began by tackling the 'Scores', a series of narrow lanes with steep sets of steps leading towards the sea. I have to admit to feeling a little concerned as we were about half way through the 'Scores' as I hadn't for one second envisaged feeling quite so out of breath! After all I consider my self pretty healthy and I've been doing a fair amount of running lately too. Anyway, I kept quiet about this until I heard a few murmurs mirroring my own feelings, so I relaxed and admitted to feeling slightly concerned. I think these steps alone have been a bit of a wake up call as to how much training there is to do. This Three Peaks challenge is going to be serious!

Anyway, once the 'Scores' were complete we marched on through the remainder of the town and onto the promenade, time to start enjoying the sunshine beating down on our faces. Oh and a few thoughts of likely rewards when seeing the ice creams and doughnuts from the stalls we passed. Although sunny and a blue sky it probably wasn't warm in temperature but walking at a fair pace with several layers on made it feel hot and we were soon wrapping jackets and jumpers around our waists. Thank you Mr Weather-man this helped with momentum, the essence of Summer was all we needed to put a 'spring' in our steps!

Our stunning coastal walk commenced through Kessingland and the stunning beach of Benacre,
where we stopped for a snack, a sit down and for some of the group an opportunity to play their own version of pooh sticks! It was a shortened stop as we were a little behind time, as instructed by our lovely leader James Muir. He was keen for us to keep up a good pace, after all this will certainly be the case if we are to complete the Three Peaks within 24 hours! Some of us may not have been keen to hear that we were a little behind time but when we finished up in Southwold quicker than we imagined, there were alot of smiles to be seen, or perhaps that was due to the next part of the walk being a simple strut through the town to get to the pub serving cold beer and fish and chips... hmmm, I'll let you make your minds up about that one!

There were 10 of us on this first walk, so a nice sized group and always someone to have a chat to whilst walking. I made sure I spent time talking to each person and got to know the two people whom I had never met before. Everyone was lovely and if this is an example of the time we will have when it comes to the challenge itself we really are in for a treat! Bring on the next one!!

What? Why? When? Where? Who?

So firstly, an introduction to what this is all about is probably an appropriate start...

I'm Kaori King and am a keen member of the Imagine It Street Team - we were brought together by the brains behind Imagine It, Fynn & Victoria Cornish, who set up a coaching community to inspire and help people to discover life and instil in their followers a mission to live passionately in the moment. From the beginning Victoria knew that she was suffering with a rare type of Cancer (ACC) but rather than curl up and feel sorry for themselves and the situation that they found themselves in they did the total opposite! With a lust for life, they lived it and from that they wanted to help other people do the same and that is exactly what their fantastic work with Imagine It has provoked.

Very sadly Vicky left this World (for adventures and to no doubt inspire others somewhere else!) in January 2013. She has left a massive hole in the lives of those she left behind, particularly Fynn, her family and close friends but what she has also left is a massive legacy and one that we as the Imagine It Street Team are determined to continue.

To ensure we get together as a team and to raise money for the Adrenal Cancer Research programme, over the past year we have held some events - from trips to the beach, picnics, bowling games, coffee mornings etc and some of us have even been involved in challenges, such as the Race for Life (a 5k race in which Vicky beat most of us last year!), half marathons (Fynn completed a trio!!), Insane Terrain runs and obstacles and more...

This lust for life is growing by the day and with so many people eager to take on new challenges here is what we have coming up for the rest of this year...

* Insane Terrain Wansford (April)
* Race for Life (Norwich & Sunderland - May)
* Brancaster - Holkham - Wells 14 mile beach walk (May)
* 100 mile Norfolk Cycle Ride (June)
* Peak District Trek - 13 miles (July)
* Sheringham  - Wells 19 mile beach walk (August)
* The Three Peak Challenge (Ben Nevis, Scafell Pike & Snowdon in 24 hours!!) (August)
* Tough Mudder (September)

This blog is going to cover all of the challenges that we are taking part in as a team, as well as the training, with mental and physical updates as we go. It will hopefully contain blog posts written by many of the members involved with their take on what they've been up to, so that you don't get bored of just hearing from me. Some of the blog posts may even feature on the Imagine It website if Fynn thinks that they're worthy enough!

If you think you'd like to be part of the Imagine It Street Team and take on some of these challenges with us then just 'like' the 'Imagine It' community Facebook page and request to join the team here - the more the merrier!!

Thanks for reading and hope you enjoy what's to come...

Kaori

As promised there will be a link to the Michigan University Imagine It fundraising page at the bottom of each post so that anyone who wants to sponsor us can do so easily.