Trail – Will I ever get there?

Subj: Hi Sarah
Date: 11/28/2006 4:24:14 PM GMT Standard Time
From: claire
To: Sarah

Hey Sarah,

Don’t let yourself pass up on this opportunity of a life time! Trail
Fitness Academy is here to shield you from the glare of snooty shop assistants, and don’t forget, you’ll be with 5 others in exactly the same position as you.

We’re here to help you achieve your goals in your own timescale, it would be such a shame if you missed out.

Here’s your chance to walk into a gear shop with Graham Thompson our immensely knowledgeable technical editor – you’ll be so excited with the prospect of FREE gear you’ll forget about the shop assistants, besides I know for sure that the ones in Blacks are very obliging and helpful.

Please email me as soon as you have the chance. I really want you to be part of this exciting fitness programme, all it takes is this first scary step but I know you can do it.

I’m looking forward to meeting you on Wednesday,

yours,

Claire

_________

How could I say no when someone had been so nice?!

Subj: Christmas comes early!
Date: 11/22/2006 5:56:09 PM GMT Standard Time
From: claire.maxted
To: Sarah

Hi Sarah,

Great news! The Trail Fitness Academy is to be sponsored by Black’s and as a special Get-On-The-Hill incentive they want to kit each member out with a completely new set of gear!

I’ve sent your clothing, shoe size and address to them so you’ll be receiving an early Christmas present. Please let me know when your package arrives. As part of the sponsorship we’d love everybody to be wearing their Black’s kit on our hill session next week.

If any of the clothes they send don’t fit, let me know and I’ll arrange for another size to be sent out. Bring any items that didn’t fit you next week and we’ll have them sent back.

Looking forward to seeing you soon!

Claire

___________

Although it’s great that Blacks were sponsoring, I was a little bit miffed that I’d just done all that shopping for things I liked, and was going to be made to wear things that someone else had picked! Claire’s email was closely followed by….

Subj: Christmas comes early…take 2
Date: 11/24/2006 4:41:29 PM GMT Standard Time
From: claire
To: sarah

Hi Sarah,

We’ve just had the news that the outdoor clothing from Blacks won’t arrive in time for our meet in the Lakes.

But don’t despair! Did anyone hear me despairing?? I was over the moon!

We’re going to start Thursday morning with a trip to Blacks in
Ambleside to try on some goodies! Then Blacks will send you the items to complete your wardrobe afterwards.

Apologies for any inconvenience caused. Any questions, give me a call, have a great weekend!

Claire
_______________

That was it…I decided I wasn’t going, and emailed Claire…

Subj: Re: Christmas comes early…take 2
Date: 11/24/2006
To: claire

Claire…

Argh…my worst nightmare – that look that shop assistants give you when they realise they have nothing to fit you and they don’t know how to tell you! I know this makes me sound really neurotic and you must be wondering what you’ve got yourself into, but it was a tearful trip to George Fishers this summer that made me want to join your fitness academy, and I don’t fancy going through the same thing again in Blacks!

I think this will change my mind about coming – I’ll let you know for definite on Monday.

Sarah

Yes, now I read that back, I see how pathetic I sounded, but at the time it was a big worry!

Subj: RE: Trail’s Help Me Get There
Date: 11/16/2006 2:23:45 PM
From: Ruth
To: Sarah

Hi Sarah,

Hope you’re well and looking forward to our day out.
Can you email me your clothing and boot sizes please and also fill out the attached three day food diary, so our nutritionist can have a look.

Here are the details for the trip – please let me know when you’ll be arriving. Any queries, please email me or give me a call. We are staying at the Ambelside Youth Hostel and you need to arrive by 7.45pm on Wednesday 29th November.

We will be going for dinner at a pub called the Priest Hole in Ambleside at 8.30pm where you will meet the other five people in the Trail Fitness Academy, Trail staff and some of the experts who will be helping you.

We are aiming to be on Lourigg Fell by 11am. While we are up there, Tom Bailey our photographer will be taking lots of photos of you all. And experts including personal trainer Darren Harris will be assessing everyone’s fitness and staff writer Claire Maxted and I will be finding out what you want to achieve. Graham Thompson will also be there to give you gear and skills advice.

We will stop for lunch about 1pm. pay attention to this bit – it’s relevant later! We aim to be off the hill by 4pm, perhaps earlier.

You need to bring a packed lunch, a drink and a flask to take up the hill on Thursday as well as the following kit:

Boots
Two pairs of walking socks
Walking Trousers
Leggings or thermal bottoms
1 Long sleeved top or thermal top
Fleece jacket/pullover
Gloves
Hat
Fully waterproof and windproof jacket
Fully waterproof and windproof trousers
Rucksack – 30-40Litre
Small first aid kit inc Blister plasters/normal plasters
Lip balm
Antiseptic wipes
Pain relief tablets
Personal medication
Water bottle – around 1litre size
Watch
Whistle

For the youth hostel you will need:
Towel
Shampoo/toothpaste/showergel etc..
Pyjamas

Best wishes
Ruth

______

Panic set in when I read this email, as a huge part of my application was the fact that outdoor clothing in my size just doesn’t exist! A shopping trip to Cotswald Outdoor (and a switch card meltdown) was required, and I miraculously managed to find a lot of stuff in men’s Berghaus that not only fitted but was supremely comfy and would keep me warm. I was starting to look forward to it now!

Sent: 14 November 2006 18:12
To: Ruth Addison
Subject: Re: Trail’s Help Me Get There

Hello!

Oh dear! I mean, yes please!

I should be ok for November 30 but could you give me a little bit of an idea of what’s involved? I wasn’t lying when I said I nearly died going up Catbells, so I’m a bit scared! Also can you let me know times and things – obviously I’m a long way from the Lakes so I’ll need to sort out extra time off and somewhere to stay if it’s an early start/late finish.

Thank you…I think!

Sarah

___________________

Subj: RE: Trail’s Help Me Get There
Date: 11/15/2006 5:26:54 PM GMT Standard Time
From: Ruth
To: sarah

Hi Sarah,

Please don’t worry, nothing hard or scary will be involved – I haven’t been up a mountain yet so you’ve got more experience than me! We’re not going to make you do anything you’re not comfortable with. The key thing is that you enjoy yourself, so let me know what you’re happy to do. It is only a small walk for photo shoot purposes anyway rather than an expedition – thank goodness!

I will email you with full details of the photo shoot tomorrow. We have arranged accommodation and dinner for Wednesday 29th in Ambleside, we will be eating dinner around 8pm and we will be finished by 4pmish on the 30th, if this helps you to book train tickets or decide what time to leave if you’re driving.

Any queries please give me a call.

Best wishes

Ruth

_____________

…until I got back a from a weekend away with the Guides on November 12, shattered and stinking of woodsmoke, to an email saying I’d made the shortlist and could I send a video about myself by lunchtime the following day.

Cue massive panic, but I managed to pull something together on my antiquated digital camera (involving me with no trousers on, demonstrating the fact that I don’t have any outdoor trousers that fit – it seemed a good idea at the time!) and then had to stay up til 2am waiting for it to go through on the email!

I returned home the following day to an email telling me I’d made the final six!

Subj: Help me get there
Date: 10/24/2006
To: trail@emap.com

Hello!

In July this year, I climbed Cat Bells.
I’m 26, a size 22 and I’m pushing 19 stone.

Not two statements you’d expect to see in the same email, are they? That’s why, when I saw your plea in Trail this month, I felt compelled to get in touch.

To look at me, you wont believe that I actually eat quite healthily – none of those tables laden with donuts and burgers that you see on You Are What You Eat. My problem is that I do precious little exercise, and I’m spectacularly unmotivated by walking miles on a machine that goes nowhere or rowing for miles on a machine that never leaves the gym. What I love is the satisfaction of getting up that hill and stopping for raisins at the top, or unzipping that tent door and knowing you’ve got a whole new challenge ahead of you that day.

The first, huge, problem is, at this size, it’s a painful and breathless route to the top. My boyfriend puts up with a fair amount of whinging and rest stops because he knows that I know deep down that it’s worth it in the end. It would just be so much easier and enjoyable (for both of us) if I was fitter! As much as I love the hills, I don’t want to die of a heart attack half way up one!

Second problem is that I’m confined to being a ’summer only’ walker because the gear makers seem to think that someone my size couldn’t possibly be seriously interested in walking. I have two waterproofs – a bulky Lowe Alpine and a lightweight Berghaus – and an aged fleece. And that’s it, apart from a couple of breathable t-shirts in navy blue because someone out there thinks that fat people don’t like colour. It’s all men’s because there isn’t women’s outdoor gear to fit me. Even the largest available men’s sizes are a bit tight on the hips because I’m not exactly a straight up and down lady!

Show me a manufacturer who actually makes waterproof trousers in my size, or slim me down to a size that they DO make, and you’ll soothe years of having to fight back tears in outdoor shops as I’m looked up and down and informed that “we don’t have anything to suit you here, sorry.”

I’ve got the boots, I’ve got the backpack, I’ve got the yearning and I’ve got the most perfect walking partner a girl could wish for. I’d be the proper challenge you’re looking for. Please help me reach my potential and discover a whole new world out there without being held back by…. myself.

Thank you

Sarah

P.S This is me, when I conquered the tiny bump that is Table Mountain while camping in Brecon. It didn’t feel small at the time!
http://www.go4awalk.com/reachyourpeak/ryp1649.php

P.P.S Boyfriend wants to do Pen y Fan next year. Help!