How We Prepared for 200 Miles
- Rhiannon Eaves
- Feb 2
- 4 min read
Hi guys, hope you have all enjoyed the recent few posts.
Today I’m excited to dive into the behind-the-scenes of our training journey for the big 200-mile walk!
When we first set the challenge of walking 200 miles, I don’t think any of us quite realised what we were signing up for. In just under 4 months, we were going to walk 200 miles?! We had our work cut out for us, but we were all determined to give it our all. The website went live in January 2022, and with the walk scheduled for 20th April, we had a little less than four months to get fit. No pressure, right?
Our Route Planner Extraordinaire
A massive shoutout to Donna, who deserves all the credit for planning our training routes. Without her, we wouldn’t have been as prepared for the walk as we were. She had to drag us out the house and up the steep hills of Surrey downs and thank God she did! However, there were definitely days when her excitement about walking up St Martha’s hill was not received well by any of us!
Training Walks and Pub Stops
Our training plan was simple: weekday dog walks (1-2 hours) to keep things steady, and then longer treks on the weekends. Those longer walks began at 12 miles and gradually increased to 20 miles, pushing our limits each time. But there was one important step to make it all possible: the promise of a pub at the end!
Donna quickly realised that the only way to get my dad on a long hike, was the assurance of a pint and burger at the end. So, we always made sure to try out new pubs each time. It felt like a well-earned reward for all the effort!
One of the funniest memories of the entire process came after one of our training walks when we finished at the pub and got into Donna’s car to head home. As dad sat inside, Donna (totally by accidently, of course) slammed the door on his fingers. His voice has never been so high pitch from the pain! Emilia and I were in the back, practically in tears from laughing – but don’t worry, dad was fine, he just had some flat, bruised fingers for a couple of days!
The walks continued every weekend for 4 months. And the best part about them was that we were never alone. We had friends and family join us along the way. Pernille, another one of mum’s best friends, was a regular on the weekend walks. She was committed to doing 10 days of the Walk for Pia, so she made sure to train with us.
One of the highlights of those walks was teaching Pernille how to "wild wee" – let’s just say it’s a skill that became an essential part of our training and the walk, and definitely something we bonded over!
Also want to say a massive shoutout to our core walking team who were training all round the world. My Uncle Fran was walking daily in snowy Canada and Uncle Kev in rainy Wales! It was amazing to feel like we were all working towards the same goal, no matter where we were in the world.
The Growing Buzz of the Walk
As the training went on, the walk started gaining attention – way more than we ever expected! And, by 17th February, we were already halfway to our goal at the time, and had already raised £50,000! It was a huge boost to our motivation. On top of that, we were getting media attention, which made the whole experience feel even more real.
Dad had the chance to speak on BBC Wales Radio in March, and his inspiring words led to so many people reaching out to show their support. It was incredible to hear how many people were getting behind the walk and sharing their own stories.
We also received amazing video messages from the cast of Gavin and Stacey – Steffan Rhodri, Ruth Jones and Matthew Horne – both of whom were so kind to send in their messages of support. You can check out the Walk for Pia social media accounts to see all the endless kind words and interviews.
As the walk grew closer, we got busy with creating some fun merch for the event. T-shirts, hats, rain jackets, wristbands, and badges – we wanted to make sure everyone could show their support. Wearing the merch during our training walks led to some lovely conversations with strangers who asked how they could donate. 2 years on, and me and all our family have never taken the wrist bands off. For me, they are a symbol of our amazing achievement and in a weird way makes me feel like mum is always with me, holding my hand.
We also had Pancreatic Cancer UK send us t-shirts and a banner. And to top it off, mum was the biggest fan and loyalist customer of Sweaty Betty, so they rung us up and said Emilia and I can come to the shop and choose a whole outfit free of charge! We were over the moon and are still very grateful. Basically, we were completely kitted out and ready for the challenge ahead!
With about 2 weeks to go, Dad participated in a training event in Wales with Uncle Kev and Derek Brockway – a Welsh legend and a friend of ours! During that walk, they met Ruth Jones, aka Nessa from Gavin and Stacey, who gave us a wonderful video message of support. Dad said she was one of the kindest people he’s ever met – I’m slightly jealous I couldn’t meet her, but so thankful for her generosity!
So, as you can tell, the buildup of the walk was so much fun and very eventful, and by that point, we were all so excited to get going! Stay tuned for next week’s blog post, where I’ll share all the details from the first day of the walk, including funny moments and memorable highlights from the road.
Thanks so much for reading and for all your support – it truly means the world to me!
Love,
Rhiannon
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