2021 My year with Blacksheep and Gone Tabbing.
I had been a member of the Blacksheep group for a while before 2021 but had yet to take part in an actual event due to the pandemic that swept the nation. Having also been a part of the Gone Tabbing family the groups seamlessly merge as many members are part of both groups as the ethos is almost identical and the groups seem almost as one.
My aims for the year were to complete a full Blacksheep event and also undertake a challenge of my own devising to support the chosen charities of both groups, those charities being Support our Paras and Pilgrim bandits charity who both do fantastic work for the people they care for.
I had seen a race locally to my location near Shropshire which involved seven marathon distances covered over seven days, this appealed to me and the mantra of Pilgrim bandits being ‘always a little further ‘ meant that just doing the distance wouldn’t be enough, adding an extra dimension to the challenge was essential for maximum fundraising so I decided to make it a load bearing challenge carrying an 80lb Bergen over the seven days.
The date I’d set for the challenge was early February so throughout the preceeding months I trained hard using Avalanche endurance events gruelling golden Road series as a springboard to achieving the goal I’d set myself.
As the challenge loomed events in my personal life were to come into play along with natural elements beyond my control meaning the supported challenge I had planned with group members accompanying me each day as a safety team couldn’t happen due to covid restrictions, thus my challenge largely became a solo effort apart from a couple of occasions.
A sudden unexpected house move also landed the same week just to add to the pressure and hamper daily recovery periods but the challenge was scheduled, time had been taken off work and the donations from far and wide had already started flooding in.
Build up support and publicity from the Blacksheep and Gone Tabbing groups along with the official Allycast podcast for our community had been immense and support had built way outside the members within the groups.
As the first day loomed nerves started to build, had I bitten off more than I could chew, the weather had deteriorated and snow and sub zero temperatures were forecast but foremost in my mind was the reason I was doing this, for the group charities and to show these charities we hold them dear and embrace what they stand for.
So the night before my Bergen was packed and weighed 80lb plus water and food, weight had been made up of useful kit as much as possible, warm clothing, first aid, cooking facilities all included should I injure myself at any time and have to wait to be recovered.
Various routes around the wenlock edge area had been planned and it was time to get it done. Scores of text and video messages came flooding in with support which in itself was a huge motivation, seven marathon distances in seven days carrying an 80lb bergen was about to start.
The first day seemed to fly by, the enthusiasm was high, weather was dry but cold almost perfect for the job in hand, I was moving at a good pace and feeling comfortable ,my plan each day was to stop at roughly every 6 and a bit miles for food and a drink and stop for no longer than 10-15 minutes to avoid cramping up,but at about 17 miles I started to feel a stab of pain in my left heel, stopping to remove my lowa elite boots which had been provided by Task force distribution who are the main supplier of lowa boots in the UK, on removing my sock I discovered an old injury on my heel had returned out of nowhere, a hole that had resulted from a bad blister trialling different boots weeks before,I applied compeed and replaced my sock and boot and tabbed on.
Arriving home my heel was quite painful and it was obvious that it needed to be dealt with or it was going to be a showstopper this early on in the challenge, bathed, fed and watered I packed the hole in my heel with gauze and put compeed over that, on trying to put my boot on to see how it would feel it was obvious that the extra layers on the heel were pushing my toes forward making them uncomfortable and prone to developing more issues so I removed the gel insoles which gave me extra room but meant pounding the roads with 80lb was going to be harder on the feet from there on in.
Donations were flying in thanks to support from people who at the time I barely knew but now regard more as family, this was amazing but was also adding pressure that I had to finish no matter what.
The second and third days went well despite the Arctic weather that had rolled in, icy, snowy conditions coupled with wind chill factor meant admin had to be slick, hot drinks carried,food taken on regularly and stops kept to a minimum.
Sub zero temperatures meant lots of layers had to be worn but sweating was also an issue as my top layers I discovered were not ad breathable as claimed so although warm if I stopped my temperature dropped rapidly.
My admin on my heal seemed to be working and wasn’t holding me back which was good because when carrying a load of that weight you have to keep your natural way of moving, you can’t shift your weight or tab differently as you could risk injury to somewhere else.
By day 4 the challenge was starting to take its toll on my body, sore shoulders and aching Joints were letting me know thus wasn’t a walk in the park. Lack of daily recovery due to moving house in the evenings was telling and making things harder. The routes I had planned had to be shifted to all road routes for safety reasons as the weather was abysmal and I worried that a slip or trip(I am well known in the tabbing community for my ability to embrace the ground at speed whilst carrying a Bergen!) Would be costly and if I was ‘out in the sticks’ help wouldn’t be readily available. A routine had developed each morning and you could almost set a watch by people video or text messages, Karl Rushen without fail messaged every morning along with others and it was those messages and support that got me out of the door.
Consuming enough calories became a real challenge, the weather was energy sapping enough without the enormous physical exertion of carrying 80lb day after day and as stupid as it sounds at the end of the day forcing yourself to eat a big meal was really difficult as as soon as I sat down I wanted to sleep.
Donations by day 5 were into the thousands, the groups were pushing this challenge to a new height on social media and this weight to complete this was getting heavier.
On day 5 I tailored my route so at every six and a bit miles I passed my house so I could get some hot food and a brew which were a godsend in the cold conditions.
My feet were starting to hurt on the soles where I had been pounding the roads and I still couldn’t refit the gel insoles as I had my heel still taped up. Little niggles were starting to build, I had completed 105 miles at this point, 78 and a half to go.
On the night of day 5 I sat in a chair not knowing if I was going to finish, self motivation was starting to wane and I knew day 6 would be the acid test.
I had been putting out daily video updates on social media and it must have been evident I was starting to flag a little as that morning my phone erupted with messages ,video chats spurring me on,the group pages and podcast social media were awash with support and that boost was greatly needed.
As I prepared my gear to move out at 0700 on day six a knock on the door revealed good friend Andrew Thompson, covid rules stated you could exercise with one other person, he was working in the locality that day and had decided to join me to boost my morale. Anyone that knows Andy is aware of his crazy sense of humour and upbeat personality, which was sorely needed with treacherous conditions underfoot resulting in some near falls which could have ended the challenge on day six which would have been devastating.
It was also apparent that to finish this challenge was also a battle of mind over matter, self doubt was ever present but had to be pushed away, the evenings were a battle of trying not to think about the following day too much but focusing on what had to be done as well as updating social media to keep people informed of my progress.
Having got to the final day Blacksheep and Gone Tabbing groups held a ‘Ten for Tench’ event where people tabbed, ram or walked 10 miles in support of my challenge, the boost this gave me for that final day was immense and I set out again in pretty harsh weather to complete the hardest challenge I had ever been involved with several hours later I completed the seventh distance to achieve seven marathons in seven days carrying an 80lb Bergen.
£6000 had been raised for the two charities thanks to the incredible efforts made by everyone in support .
This challenge was to kick-start a fantastic year of events for me with the next being a new event in the lake district called Escape the Lakes, a self navigating event where the competitors were given grid references for the checkpoints in a random order, you were given 15 mins to plot a route of your own choosing and then you were set off with a 2 hour start on the hunter force.
Set in a stunning location with good weather the Robust tours hunter force managed to ‘capture’ me at Blencathra given a time penalty I was allowed to carry on with the route to pass through the remaining checkpoints and arrive at Moot Hall to complete the event in 8 and a half hrs with a route of 37.5 km.New friends made that day that would introduce me to the world of ultra events andwould see me be part of a Pivot protein team to complete a Yorkshire Three Peaks ultra,48km in under 10hrs .
I was fortunate enough to be able to attend my first Avalanche endurance events outing in the form of Old Faithful set in the shropshire hills, a tough route was completed by a good field ,this area is on my doorstep and country that I don’t utilise nearly enough.
Ken Jones and his team put together a great event that left me looking forward to hopefully competing in more events with Avalanche endurance events.
The next event for me was the Blacksheep marathon, starting from Edale organised by Karl Rushen in memory of his brother Lloyd Newell, killed tragically in service of his country . The first full Blacksheep event for me and a host of familiar faces arrived to support the event which is a marathon distance with a 3 mile tab to Jacobs ladder, complete 20 reps with 500ft of elevation on each then a 3 mile tab back to Edale. A true mental challenge as as you go up and down continuously on the same path but friendships are made as you pass each other over the next few hours.
Tabbing legend Sarah Harris became the first female to finish the load bearing category which was a monumental feat of endurance.
On arriving back at Edale I was greeted by Karl to be told I had set a new record time for completing the marathon in 11 hours 10 minutes.
A truly unique event which will undoubtedly be in my calendar for the future.
Work for me gets pretty hectic in the summer so I wouldn’t enter another event until September with the Commando shuffle which takes place on Dartmoor and replicates the Royal Marines 30 mile training march.
I joined Mark Pilgrim and John Hunter to tackle this event and a thoroughly enjoyable day followed in a beautiful area in which I lived for a number of years. Deceptively arduous we completed in just over 9 hours ,Sarah Harris and the elite outdoor fitness team completed in just under 8 hours which was completing a phenomenal year for her having been the first female tabber home at the Catterick paras 10 event the week previous.
Next on the horizon was the commando speed march in Scotland at Spean Bridge, a Gone Tabbing team had been asked to attend and the history behind the event is awe inspiring taking place at the original commando training centre. The race covers 7 miles to be completed in under an hour carrying 35lb plus water which was the initial test for recruits on arrival at the station to get to the camp.
Having been training towards a loaded marathon attempt I was in good shape to complete the course in 51 minutes and be the first veteran past the post.
Pilgrim Bandits and the Curtis palmer team in attendance also helped an ex firefighter with MND complete the course and raised money to help toward the purchase of a new trike for an injured Afghanistan veteran.
The following week was the GoneTabbing team loaded marathon attempt at Dorney lakes, Eton.
The marathon had to be ran in military boots and trousers that were current issue and carrying 40lb in a military pack which had been kindly donated by the manufacturers Crib Goch in support of our attempt which was also to raise money for Pilgrim bandits charity.
The British record stood at just over four and a quarter hours and had been held by 29 commando Royal Artillery and had been held for a number of years before a Dutch military team improved on the time coming in at 3 hours and fifty eight minutes. The team had been training for nearly twelve months and had worked extremely hard but covid had prevented events from taking place and delayed the attempt.
Several members of the team had picked up injuries but the attempt had to be made, it wasn’t to be and the time we needed fell beyond our grasp proving how difficult a task we had undertaken.
We had a great team and our support team on the day were amazing Hopefully another attempt can be made in the future and it is something I would like to be a part of.
Looking forward to 2022 being a better year for everyone in our ‘family’ and tabbing community and seeing you all in the hills.
BEN TENCH - BLACK SHEEP LEGEND
