Amit Mehta
Amit's Transpyrenean Ski Marathon
Fundraising for Save the Children
Story
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Hi everyone. I hope all is well. I would just like to say a big thank you to all of you who generously sponsored me for my event to raise money for Save the Children. I completed the Transpyrenean cross-country ski marathon yesterday and your donations helped motivate me through what I must describe as one of the most physically and mentally challenging weeks of my life! It was an incredible experience, and I have included a little blog of my week below. I hope you find it interesting, and if you are inspired by my efforts, my just giving page is still open for donations at:
www.justgiving.com/AMIT-MEHTA Today sees the end of what I regard as one of my greatest achievements. After a gruelling week of intensive aerobic and cross-country ski training, I have returned home triumphantly having completed the 42km Transpyrenean cross-country ski marathon in Ax les Thermes, Beille, France. The challenge started in epic fashion; our arrival at Toulouse airport from the sunshine of Brighton on 8th March was greeted with a full blown snow storm, the likes of which made our recent British cold snap seem like a tropical summer’s day! The snow was coming down in swathes, and what was meant to be a 1hour 45minute transfer to Ax les Thermes, a quaint spa town - our base for the marathon, turned into a 5 hour adventure. Our van had to don snow chains on its tyres to try to negotiate the extreme conditions, and we had to stop on numerous occasions to allow snow ploughs to clear a path for our vehicle. However, we made it in one piece late at night, and the snow-scape that greeted us leant an enchanted touch to our basic hotel situated at the foothills of the French Pyrenees. Having had a delicious dinner prepared by our temperamental Gallic chef, we head straight for bed, and awoke early the following morning to make introductions to our fellow group members and the leaders of our tour – James and Cathy. We were in a group of 16, and all of the members had a list of impressive and slightly intimidating athletic credentials. We had seasoned marathon runners, iron men and women, tri-athletes, fell runners, rowers and mountain climbers. And all of them had been cross country skiing before. James made it clear from the beginning that this was going to be much more of a challenge than a holiday, and outlined the gruelling schedule he had planned for us for the coming 6 days. Day one saw us having our ski’s and boots fitted, and then our first tentative foray onto the piste of Beille, high up on a Pyrenean plateau 2000 metres above sea level. We were to take part in one of the most gruelling ski marathons in the world, a 42km circuit at altitude and with a total ascent of 1000 metres over the course. No past guest on the tour without any cross country skiing experience had ever completed the marathon. We set about learning the rudimentary essentials of the classic style of skiing. It was a very strange movement which involved gliding across the snow, using your arms to help propel you in the most efficient way possible to conserve energy and enable you to complete the long distances. It was a full body work-out, and after 5 hours of intense training, we returned to our hotel having fallen, slid, skidded and finally glided across the course. A hearty dinner followed and then straight to bed to rest our weary limbs. This sequence was to be repeated for the next four days as we tried to perfect our technique. We would wake up early, have a huge breakfast, ski for 6 hours covering approximately 13 miles each day, then have an hour nap whilst dinner was prepared, eat our 3 course evening meals and then head straight to bed, well and truly exhausted. Nutrition was also vital during the week. We tended to have a large amount of porridge and croissants for breakfast, and we washed it down with almost 2 litres of water even before we had started skiing. During the actual day, it was a chocolate lover’s dream, as we scoffed through 4 or 5 chocolate bars, sweets, cakes and energy drinks to try to replace the monumental number of calories we were burning. Our dinner was always a feast, to satiate our ravenous hunger after a hard day ploughing through the snow. On Saturday, it was our designated rest day. I literally only left the bed to have breakfast, lunch and dinner, and otherwise just slept to try to heal the aches and pains suffered after an extremely challenging four days. Over the course of the week, we had skied in a blizzard at -20⁰C, through to warm, bright sunshine. Sunday was the day of the marathon. We were greeted by a glorious morning, and the conditions were ideal for our task. We were going to pit our wits as mere mortals against Olympians who had flown from the Winter Olympics in Canada to compete, and this made the challenge even more daunting. My stomach was a knot of nerves at the start line, but as the rush of elite athletes flew by us, the race settled down and we got into our steady rhythm. We all trudges up the steep uphill and steady ascents and enjoyed the rapid downhill on precarious mountain slopes. The piste was situated in the most spectacular of environs, and this was a breathtaking distraction for us all. I felt strong as the race continued; the training had paid off. One member of our group did suffer a dislocated shoulder after a fall and had to be taken to hospital, but the 12 others from the group who competed in the 42km race successfully finished which was an unprecedented result. I eventually completed the marathon in 5 hours 51 minutes. Our little amateur group even made it into the local newspaper in this morning’s papers! It brought to an end what had been an exhausting but exhilarating week.I have chosen Save The Children as my chosen charity.
Thank you in advance for you kindness and support!
Amit
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