The Rotary Club of Corringham Thameside

With Christmas & New Year behind us, I feel it’s time to update you on my training programme which had to be curtailed over the holiday period due to a back problem. Now that is behind me (no pun intended !!) , I have upped the ante and have lengthened my walks from 10 miles at a time to 15, 20, and occasionally to 25 miles. On one occasion I even excelled myself by completing a 30 mile stint which I completed in 6hrs 40 mins. Oh, how I ached after that ! I have also been seeking out the hills ready for the challenge of the Downs. There is still a long way to go, but we’re slowly getting there. I’ve even planned some mountain walks when I visit Norway in June.
You can now sponsor our team online – just click on the Donate button !!
Many thanks, David.

Hi there !
I’m Rob Waite, the youngest (and best looking) of the team !!
I thought it was time I added to this blog and let everyone know about mine & the teams training. For myself training really begun at the start of the year after getting Christmas out the way – too much food & mulled wine available. Since the start of the year I’ve been going to the gym 3 times a week (only managed to get there twice last week though) mainly using the treadmill, bike and cross-trainer. I’m finding the training to be quite time consuming & more difficult than I first thought, but it is essential to completing the Trailwalker event ( that and my wife said I was getting ‘tubby’ so it it serves a dual purpose !).
Myself, Terry and David have been out on a walk (approx. 12 miles) around Langdon Hills and we did it in a good time – despite those hills and my blisters ! Like an idiot I wore brand new trail walking trainers straight out the box without breaking them in first – I paid the price in pain for this, to the amusement of Terry & David !!
We are going to arrange a get together of all 4 of the team and complete a very long walk over a 8 – 10 hour time span. The Trailwalker is going to be a huge task but I’m looking forward to it. Hopefully, very soon, we will have a system in place where we can take sponsorship online via this website.
Cheers, Rob Waite

We will be holding a Curry Lunch at The Tandoori Parlour, 61-63 Hart Road Thundersley, on Sunday 6th April 2008 from 12.30 p.m. For just £12 per head you can enjoy an ‘all you can eat’ Indian lunch from a choice of over fifty dishes !!
50%  of the ticket sales will be donated to the Trailwalker charities – the Gurkha Welfare Trust & Oxfam.  
All are welcome – Tickets are available by contacting our club.
Your chance and a tasty way to support this worthy cause ! 

Hi, I’m David, the oldest of the club’s Trailwalker team. Mindful of the fact that it is nearly 8 years since I have done any serious walking, it is essential that I get in plenty of practice.
I started my training back in August, with regular 5 mile walks completed as fast as I could manage. 5 miles would have taken about 67 minutes. Since then, I have increased the distance considerably, but maintain a steady 4 1/2 miles per hour.
I have regularly joined Terry & Rob for group training sessions which usually take in routes around One Tree Hill and Langdon Hills and we sometimes walk across the marshes from Fobbing to Mucking and back.
Currently I am training 2 or 3 times a week and hope to complete between 10 to 15  miles on each occasion. I have twice made it from Basildon to Southend and back – a distance of approx. 28 miles !!
Since the beginning of August I have completed some 575 miles, but I’m aware that the real work starts in the new year. Training so far has accounted for more than 1.2 million paces. 

Hi, Terry here and as the group leader I thought I’d better set an example and start entering info about our progress.
All four of us have been training regularly for the last couple of months, starting very modestly and increasing our distances gradually.
We train on our own mostly, but every so often Rob, David and myself get together for a team walk across country.
Gerry does his own thing as he lives in Suffolk but keeps in touch and we’re plannng to join him sometime soon for a team hike in new territory.
So far our group hikes have gone up from 6 to 10 miles, each maintaining approximately 4.5 mles per hour.
Individuals are doing their own schedules at the moment, and I must admit I was a bit worried about my own training as for the last 3 weeks due to work commitments I have not been able to do anything at all. However, went out yesterday and did 10 miles in 2.5 hours without ill effect, so glad to be getting back into the routine.
Any one who wants to jon us is really welcome by the way.
Before I sign off I must also mention a big thanks to Anne and Doug Nash, Pat and Peter Burfoot, and our tolerant wives who have volounteered to form our ‘support group’ on the big weekend.
The support group is essential and infact a requirement of being able to enter the event.
Any other volounteers will be welcome.
Cheers for now, Terry.