Cabot Ten Tors

The week before the Ten Tors event was pretty hectic at school, so preparing for the event was a bit more minimal than in previous years!

However saying that in the weeks before the event I managed to get my kit down to an all-time record- 5.8 kilos for my kit and rucksack (before two lunches, my share of the tent and 1 litre of water were added. The actual weight of my rucksack at its heaviest on Saturday morning was around 9.5 kilos). It all got a bit ridiculous, with the kitchen scales being consulted again and again to compare spoons and plastic bags. But by saving grams here and there I managed to get together an exceptionally light kit, which I hoped would make the difference for me on the event as it was always going to be very difficult.

"...we knew how hard the weekend would be..."

Arriving at Okehampton on Friday we did all the usual things. We picked up our event sweatshirts, a nice blue colour with white writing, which seemed fantastic compared to last year’s rather lurid yellow. We then went over to scrutineering where the queue was longer than last year but it was a lot more cheerful as we didn't have to wait in the rain. Our route, T, looked pretty decent when we were given it as the two places we really didn't want to go to (Coombestone and Pupers Hill) weren't on it. Also it was a fairly simple route, with a lot of tors we knew and various paths and roads. After planning our route we wandered round the campsite for a bit and then went to bed very early, as we knew how hard the weekend would be.

Saturday morning - the playing of the Chariots of Fire theme tune and 'I Will Survive' always get us up in a good mood. Felt a bit jittery this year as I knew the weekend would be a lot harder than when I had done 35 before. We then made our way over to the start and waited to start. After the good lucks from leaders and family we waited for the cannon and then set off down the hill towards our first tor- the event had begun!

This year’s team was great as with one exception I have got to know all the other team over the last three years of doing Ten Tors and we are now all good friends. . There’s Rob (or 'Daddy Rob') our team leader, who is well past 6 foot, always a laugh and a walking machine. Matt and Nyle are two mates of mine who I have been walking with since my first Ten Tors and they are two great guys, solid walkers and good fun. Then there’s James 'The Dude' Oborne, the team goth who will always entertain us with stories of his latest death metal bands like 'My Dying Bride'. Finally this year there was Joe, a really nice guy and the only person in our team never to have done the event before. Straight in at 45 miles! And he had worked really hard over the year at his training and also with getting his kit lighter.

So, first tor, East Mill. As it was only 2.5K we zoomed over to it in half an hour for a quick check in and drink before carrying on to our next tor. We then carried on to Sourton, arriving in good time at 8:52. The weather was great at this point- mild and cloudy, exactly what we wanted after last year’s torrential rain.

We then made it over to Lynch in excellent time at 11:01, we were now the first team on T route. One thing we did comment on at this point is how much we missed Kitty to Lynch, one of the classic legs that we have done countless times! From Lynch we then went on to Staple.

"...we saw a group of 55ers RUNNING past..."

At Staple we saw my mother with some of the leaders, which was great as they were all very encouraging. We then had our longest leg, a whopping 11Km to Hartor! We managed to stay motivated along its length and made great time arriving at 15:13 (still the first team on T Route!). We then walked along a track down to Trowlesworthy, which was hard work as the morning’s efforts had started to take their toll on us. However there were an awful lot of 45ers in this area as a lot of the routes came down to this part of the moor, so we cheered ourselves up by talking to other groups. Also we saw a group of 55ers RUNNING past.... god knows how they could be doing that when we were tired of walking! We assumed they had to make an 8:00 cut off time on a very distant tor.

After arriving at Trowlesworthy at 16:18 we then walked back along the path to South Hessary, which we had passed earlier. We clocked in at 18:22. We were all feeling pretty exhausted by this point so had a quick bite to eat and found out the FA Cup Final score off some squaddies before moving on again.

"...somehow managed to stumble and run up the tor..."

By this point we had decided the Great Mis cut off time of 8:00 was far too late and we wouldn't be able to make it, also there was no point straining too hard as we weren't in a fit state to carry on after it. We made pretty average speed over to Great Mis however at 7:45 Rob realised we were a lot closer than we thought, and that if we really tried we would be able to get up to the summit before the 8pm time. It was pretty frantic, but we somehow managed to stumble and run up the tor together at the end and we got there at 7:59. The final sprint to the checkpoint was exhausting but we were cheered in by some other 45ers who had just got there as well, and the army were very impressed we had made it in.

It was getting pretty dark at this point, and also our feet were all in a bit of a state. James had some blisters popped by the army (not a lovely sight I must say), so we all agreed (as by now it was close to half 8) that here was the place to camp. We got tents up and were so desperate to get to bed we didn't even mind getting changed outside (working on the mentality that 'for the girls it's a treat anyway!'). By making the 8pm night stop time, we had our route card stamped in the evening instead of the morning. This meant we could leave when we liked, instead of having to wait until 6am to be given our card. We woke up at 4, and were pretty speedy in leaving camp, leaving the tor at about 4:40. Our efforts at talking in whispers, to try not to wake the other campers, were pretty pointless as when we were leaving a 35er stumbled out of their tent to cry 'OOGIE OOGIE OOGIE!!!!!' to the replies of 'OY OY OY!!!' from another tent!

We made excellent time now, getting over to Rough at 6am sharp. This was great, as it meant that even if we had carried on to Rough last night we would be in exactly the same position (as we couldn't have left Rough until 6am). As it was our 10th tor, the 7km to Watern flew by and we were all very happy to get there at 8:24. We weren't looking too pretty by this point- Rob had snapped two bootlaces, James was very tired, Matt had hurt his leg and we all had lots of blisters. However there was only 7km to the finish, and the thought of an excellent finishing time and taking off our boots back at the tent spurred us on. When we got to the last 5km along the roads we zoomed along, making really great time. We stopped on the brow of the hill to put on our team sweatshirts and caps before walking down the final hill to the finish line.

It was as moving as always, although the crowd was noticeably smaller than last year’s finish because we were so early. However that didn't matter at all, as the people we really wanted to see were there and cheering us in. My Mum was there and looked really proud, and all the leaders were amazed at our finish time. As we crossed the finish line we were all very emotional, as this year had been such a team effort for us. Our final clock in time was 10:34, a fantastic team achievement.

"...I had several nasty blisters..."

We then got given hot dogs by the army (no pasties this year!) and team medals. Prising off my boots wasn't a very pleasant experience, as I had several nasty blisters on the soles of my feet and my toes. Also I had strained muscles in my left ankle and right knee, so I wasn't too quick on my pins around the campsite! We then went back to the finish line and watched the other teams come in, the other 45 team from our group (who were on our route) finished at 3:20. Also, out of all 5 BNWS teams not one person dropped out this year, which I think was brilliant.

I managed to get to school the next day, thanks to getting a lift as I don’t think I could have walked! My feet are recovering well, although they are covered in various plasters and blister treatments! I am so proud of this year’s event I think it was the best one I have completed, as not only was our finish time excellent but our team mentality was hard to beat.

As for the future- well I really don't know about 55 as it always looks more like punishment than fun. But I will miss Ten Tors as it has been such a huge part of my life over the last three years. It has taught me a lot about myself as a person and what I can do if I put my mind to it. After this weekend’s success it would be a shame not to do another event, so who knows?