Charlton Chase - By Oli King

Fifth Year pupil Oli King has written about his recent experience of the Charlton Chase:

Charlton Chase: A brutal, destructive trial of the elements that thrives by pushing you to your absolute physical and mental limits.

Charlton Chase is not just an activity, but a deadly dash across unthinkable terrain not because you want to win (although that may be your aim at the start), but as the night progresses you realise it would be exhilarating simply to reach the finish.

The challenge in Charlton Chase is unlike anything I’ve experienced previously, and, while it is not as long and arduous as it’s big brother, Ten Tors, it is strenuous in just as many ways. The difficulty in Charlton Chase stems from three key factors: first off, the night. Humans are not nocturnal. Most people would rather be asleep in bed, comfy and warm, yet whilst on Charlton Chase there is no sleep, it is a night time event, so there is no time for sleep. This pushes you to the limits of insanity, as you constantly drive to keep yourself awake by consuming an inglorious amount of calories.

Next up: the walking. Walking on Charlton Chase is different to walking on DofE for one key reason: the lack of breaks. You have a time limit. You must finish by this time limit. Therefore, throughout our journey we took a total of two breaks, each one no more than five minutes long, at designated zones where the clock could be paused while we regained some form of comfort. This walking is not for the light hearted, and your feet will not survive unscathed.

Finally, the ultimate challenge: the mud. As the sun fell and we stepped out into the wild, we soon encountered a large quantity of mud. “It’ll soon go away,” I pondered to myself. However, it never did. Throughout the night our whole team either slipped, tripped or skidded down into a large patch of mud at one point or another. The mud was everywhere, and by the time we reached the end point, we were completely and utterly brown.

However, after a bacon sandwich and a coach ride home, I came to the conclusion: was it a painful, exhausting journey that made me wish for home? Yes. But was it, in total, worth it? Absolutely.