Certified, Preparation and exhaustion...

This week the Oar Raisers have been raising sponsorship for the 80 mile walk to Kent on the 4th of Feb.
So far so good, we have raised well over £100 each and expect to receive a healthy whack from our courages
friends also participating, Anyone taking on this challenge should know how truly grateful and inspired we are
by your efforts. Completing even a small part of this walk will be a big achievement, so we hope you're all ready
and as excited/nervous as we are...

With only four days to event day we should almost certainly be ready, however a few snags have exploded onto
the stage and in typical Oar Raiser form we are seeking out ways (kind friends) to resolve the problems. The official
red Oar Raisers fiesta that was to provide support and back up on this event has sadly passed away to the great
scrapheap in the sky to the sound of a blown catalytic converter and eroded manifold. I share the sorrow and loss
of my first car with Colin John Bowles, a man decent enough to have been my car sharing buddy...

I'd just like to say a few words in memory of Trouble (our cars nickname) -

Carry we who die in battle
Over land and sea
Across the rainbow bridge
To Valhalla
Odin's waiting for me

the loss of Trouble actually might make life quite difficult for us in the near future - so if anyone would like to donate a car of working order, it would be gratefully received haha


Ok to Tom then, Congratulations brother... Tom passed his trailer test this week which means he can now pull a boat behind his car, a massive benefit for us obviously, although nervous and with only half the generally required training R1 passed the test with flying colours and we wish to thank Peter Sutton of the Norwich trailer training company for his donation of the training sessions and all his help. Well done Tom.

All final preparations in place for the walk the Mayor of Cambridge will be waving us off at 07:00 am on Friday morning from the Guildhall, I am hopeful we will find another vehicle in time to provide support along the way. All those taking part, please don't forget your contact sheets on the day and don't be late, although we're not expecting a marching pace we do have a vague schedule to stick to.

As with most Sunday evenings, I am tired and almost unable to move my legs due to another weeks exhausting training and running around organising things, the sensation is less like pain but more like the warmth and satisfaction of knowing the hard work you've put in. It's hard to express in words without it sounding horrible but I have grown to quite like the feeling of my pulverised muscle meat clinging to my bones. The body is a remarkable thing and capable of enduring incredible punishment, I just hope our minds are as fortified.

For now, enjoy your first week of February and look out for us on Friday, any offers of support or services are still welcome,

keep reading,

Chris.