I Walked for 10 Hours Non-stop!

Testing Resilience and Stretching Oneself to the Limit.

I Walked 56 Kilometers!

Photo by Jordan McQueen on Unsplash

Conceiving The Idea

Have you ever done something, like taking up a challenge, and people around you wonder what could be wrong with you? Well, that was me on the first Wednesday of July. I set to walk a 50 kilometer distance, not knowing what to expect. The only thing I was sure about was that I would finish. After all, most physical challenges are largely mental than physical.

About eight months before, I had done 5 kilometers run daily for 30 days. The experience built some level of resilience in me and triggered a desire to do things that defied logic.

As I was thinking about taking the walking challenge, I shared my dream with a few friends, most of whom were positive about the idea and cheered me on. I felt encouraged. Some even promised to come along in my support, while others vowed to join me in conquering the challenge.

One such person was the high-spirited Joshua. I met my friend Joshua at the gym and told him of the mountain ahead of me. He was thrilled at the idea and immediately bought into it. It was a convergence of equal energies as Joshua was also looking to do something unique for his birthday. Therefore, we settled on doing the walk on his birthday.

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Get Set...

Having given a purpose to our walk, we waited for the big day that was about four days away. On the eve of the challenge, we checked on each other to confirm our walk's plans, and everything was in place. The legs felt ready, while the mind was eager for an experience like no other.

One of the things you want to do when going out for a long day workout is to drink plenty of water, eat foods that are rich in carbs, and get sufficient sleep days to the event. I did all that as standard procedure. You also have to avoid alcoholic drinks if you don't want a dehydrated day.

We set to start our challenge at six o'clock in the morning. There was no need to set an alarm for that as I'd not have any difficulty waking up for a six o'clock plan. About a quarter to six, I checked on Joshua, hoping that he would still be on schedule.

I dressed up quickly and had my bowl of cereal with milk, ready to conquer the challenge ahead. I'd packed on the night before, having armed myself with three liters of water in my backpack, my favorite red sniper shoe, the Sonic Balance 4 by Salomon. I also had a rainproof jacket, leg warmers, and a jolly spirit. We expected a cold-to-rainy day.

Joshua had called to check on me, but I missed his call as I was getting ready. I'm sure, at this point, he thought I'd chickened out. I walked to our meeting point, hoping to find Josh on location. I returned his call, and gladly he was also on his way, having stopped at the local supermarket to stock up some lunch bars, among other necessities.

After a short prayer, we were fully set and ready to start tracking this long adventure. We alerted the security personnel that we would pick up our car after taking a “short” walk, and we left.

I had charted the route we would take, having done my estimates using previous cycling adventures. Therefore, I was certain of the course we'd take, the climbs, the drops, and the finishing.

And Off We Went!

So, how will this long day turn out? What will we be talking about this whole journey?

The first ten kilometers were quite busy with human and vehicle traffic as people set out to make a living and attend to other duties of life. This meant being more watchful of the traffic as we chat about anything and everything about our country, the local economy, the little children walking and driving to school, and the hardworking men and women who keep the country's economic wheel turning.

Photo: The day’s statistics.

The first ten kilometers were covered in about two hours, which gave us an idea of how long it would take to finish the challenge. Clearly, this was never going to be anything below eight hours. The first thirty or so kilometers would involve going up on a high-altitude route. Indeed, we covered an elevation gain of about 700 meters in the 30 kilometers.

The green and cool weather of this section of the walk was very refreshing. Having a fresh breath of air from tea and coffee plantations was breathtaking. The section also had minimal to no traffic, creating an atmosphere for engaging in deeper conversations touching on our lives- work, families, careers, ambitions, and bits of politics.

We kept looking forward to reaching the peak of the uphill walk, which would usher in a return journey (through a loop) of a downhill walk. We reached the peak at around 1 p.m., having covered about 29 kilometers. It was such a relief to be past halfway through the journey.

At this point, we were starting to get hungry, having eaten our lunch bars and dates that Joshua had carried. They were our breakfast and mid-morning snacks, helping us keep walking and conversing. The weather was favorable as it was fully cloudy and cold. However, we did not forget to keep sipping our water, lest we became dehydrated without showing a sweat.

We were thinking of where to eat along the roadside towns without taking too much time sitting around and getting lazy or having leg cramps. We couldn't find a decent place to eat, nor any ready food in the local eating joints.

At one of the food joints, the owner was just starting to prepare to cook at 1 p.m. Joshua, thinking on his feet, decided we grab a soda and some mandazi and then refill our depleting water reserves. It took us no more than ten minutes to gobble two mandazi and a 300 ml Fanta soda, and the journey going back home continued.

The return route had a fair share of traffic but not too much to distract us or make us feel unsafe walking by the roadside. We also remembered that we had not taken a single photo at this point, despite having covered a section that would serve premium photo moments. Truly, men will always be men.

We consoled ourselves that we would get other tea plantations that would afford us a photo session. This challenge had to be captured and live to be told.

Photo: Our first photo on this long journey, at about 35 kilometers.

A kind gentleman offered to take photos of us at the next tea farm we saw. We were quite exhausted, but we still afforded some smiles. The gentleman was very friendly and did the task generously. Finding such people in a world full of stress and exhaustion is beautiful.

At this point, we had started estimating how long it would take us to reach certain significant landmarks on the road, like Kentmere Club and Raini. The downhill to the Kentmere Club was better done with intermittent jogging to change the walk's rhythm and distribute the lactic acid across the body. The one-kilometer jog helped ease the accumulating exhaustion, which kept us motivated for the next many kilometers.

Admittedly, I enjoyed climbing than going downhill. Going uphill has always been my favorite thing. Downhills can do a number to the knees, leaving them wobbly, more so when you're already tired.

At Raini, around kilometer 45, we stopped momentarily to recharge on some fresh, ripe bananas. The lady at the kibanda looked at us suspiciously, wondering what two mono-gloved, miserably looking gentlemen would be doing to make them look so helpless.

I think at some point, she didn't trust us even to afford the four bananas we ate. We paid her in cash, and she afforded a smile of reassurance as we whisked ourselves away. We had about five more kilometers to hit our day's target and 3 kilometers to celebrate Joshua’s big day. This should have acted as a consolation, but even hitting those targets would not leave us at our final destination.

Kilometer 47 finally came, and I had to pause and remind Joshua to record this auspicious moment. He was too absorbed in the walk, or his legs were too spent to think of this significant landmark. This moment meant everything to him as he marked 47 years on this planet in style. The moment also gave us renewed will and purpose to finish the journey.

Photo: Joshua at 47

We were happy to be joined by a few kids going home from school. Truly, this was a whole day’s affair. Children had gone to school and left school as we were still trekking. Workers had checked their 8 to 5 obligations while we were still cruising an endless expedition.

One particular schoolboy seemed to be intrigued by the idea of walking purposely. He was already a long-distance walker in the making, given that his home was quite a number of kilometers away from the school. He admitted to getting used to walking that much daily, all alone.

This moment gave us a chance to reflect on how much privileged many children are to have school transport, but also how many more are missing this privilege, putting children at the risk of reckless road users and strangers on their way to and from school. You'd want to imagine that such a boy will be well-seasoned for life, but is it worth it? Can't children just be children? At the moment, he was enjoying the health benefits of walking.

The next milestone was fast approaching, just three kilometers away. Our initial target on this day was to trek fifty kilometers, which was a new thing for both of us. We clocked 50 and were filled with joy, ecstasy, and the feeling of accomplishment, knowing that one can achieve whatever one wants. We took a moment to capture a selfie knowing well that we had conquered ourselves. The remaining journey would be a bonus on our target.

Photo: Josh & Pat at 50 km.

As I paused my tracker for the photo moment, I noticed the watch was running out of battery. Previous experiences have taught me the pain of losing your tracking to a dead battery. I was well-armed with my watch charger and a power bank.

There is no way I'd have all my hard work go unrecorded. Not this time. I plugged the charger and continued with the journey, charging my watch until it was 30%. The pedometer kept working, thanks to the power of technology. This confirmed my sentiments that technology should complement your lifestyle.

The aroma of roadside mutura was distractive at some point, reminding us that we were actually hungry, but we had work to do. A man in his forties or early fifties would reminisce his old days as a teacher in his drunk stupor, wailing about an injustice done to him. May he find this justice at some point, and his pain be taken away. His state can't be a welcome one at any home.

The Finish Line

The road at this final section of our journey was narrow, uneven, and not a pleasant place to walk on one's tired legs. The journey to the final destination seemed to be growing longer. Our bodies had received maximum torture, and our brains were slowly shutting down, given that we'd already accomplished our goal of 50. The additional 6 kilometers surely seemed longer than half of a day's journey. The long flat horizons didn't help as Joshua kept asking whether we were anywhere near our final junction at kilometer 54.

My lower back was hurting, with the impact of standing for so long taking a toll on me. I had to ask Joshua to pause as I leaned forward to stretch the back. Children going home from school must have wondered what was ailing me to look like someone who's about to pop out one. We kept going, with a vivid view of our finishing point.

The gleam of hope encouraged us to jog a little to both ease the accumulating fatigue and get closer to the finish line. The 500-meter jog truly did wonders. We were now just a kilometer or less to the finish line. Renewed hope, feeling of accomplishment, and fighting mental and physical fatigue were the three scenes in our bodies. It was 5. 00 p.m. It was actually a full day's work!

We crossed the road to the finish line and stopped our watches, filled with celebratory hearts, but our faces showed none of those emotions.

Photo: The finish line fatigue and pain.

10:31:57 Hours Later

Bloodshot eyes from the day's dust and sweat. Pain on the toes and feet, longing for straightening, and hungry stomachs described us better. Behind all that was total accomplishment. We had walked for 10:31:57 hours, covered 56.69 kilometers, and burnt 4402-kilo calories over an elevation gain of 846 meters. What a day! What an accomplishment! What a duo!

We will be waiting for anyone who breaks our record. The challenge is over to you.

Off we went to stretch, snack, freshen up, share stats and pictures, and relive the day in our minds and with our sporty friends. Happy Birthday Joshua and many happy returns. Remember, you owe me one in no less than a decade.

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Take Aways

This is what Joshua had to say about celebrating his birthday in a special way:

I had planned to run on this route for a long time, since 2018, wanting to celebrate my birthday by running the same distance as my age. I knew it was going to be arduous and require resilience.

The 5th of July will forever be etched in my mind. We had a target of 50 km, but by the time we hit the 45 km mark, my legs were tired, and my mind was telling me to give up, but I tried to remember the last time I felt the same and how I reacted. I could only recall a similar feat in 1997. I made it then, and I knew I could make it today.

I learned the value of resilience. When you feel you should quit, tell your brain you have to finish.

I reaffirmed the value of friendship and support. When we walked together, I felt like we were halving the distance between us. I knew we were together in it.

Sharing hard, uncomfortable tasks and undertakings is a way to get a glimpse of other people's character.

This small achievement has put me in a frame of mind to believe that all the things I want to do but haven't attempted to depend on my willpower, determination, and attitude.

At 47, I look forward to life as if it just started.

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Closing Remarks

That was our day. Our journey. Our experience is narrated as it happened. I took these points home as I went to unwind and recover from ten hours of standing.

• The mind always carries the body- Your willpower will carry you through difficult challenges. Lack of it will leave you crumbling.

• Never walk alone- You will go fast alone, but not far.

• Don't overthink your plans- Just do it. Do not succumb to analysis paralysis.

• You cannot have everything in control- Be flexible and learn on the journey.

• Physical exercise is self-investment- Take a break from your daily busy life and look after your physical well-being.

• Find crazy friends- Have someone whom you can do crazy things with and for you.

• Celebrate life- Maica no maya.

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