Babes set for ultra walk

Butcher's Babes are primed and ready for the Oxfam Challenge 100km walk in Taupo on April 9 and 10.
Ali Lang of Gladstone, Eketahuna duo Corrina Carew and Brenda Farley and Christine Tuka of Wanganui are being coached for their big assignment by a former national ultra-marathon champion, Masterton's Graeme Butcher (hence their official name tag) and were encouraged by their joint performance at the Triple Peaks endurance event in Havelock North last weekend.
There they completed the 46.2km course in 9 hours 54 minutes, with Lang saying they were all "pretty pleased" with how they felt at the end of it.
"Obviously there was a bit of soreness here and there but we got through it without any real hassles and that was the main thing," Lang said. "We were always looking at it as more of a training run for the big one than anything else and we coped okay."
It was in May last year when contesting the Oxfam Challenge first became more than a passing fancy for Butcher's Babes.
Lang, 48, said the idea was first prompted by her walking partner Farley, 46, and after they decided to "give it a go", Carew, 40, and former national race walking champion Tuka, 48, came on board.
"I think the general feeling was that you only live once and we might as well take the opportunity to do something most people wouldn't ordinarily do ... and all for a good cause," Lang said, adding the primary objective of the challenge was to raise money for Oxfam's charities, including the Christchurch earthquake appeal.
Wisely they have not set themselves a goal in terms of finishing time because they are venturing into uncharted territory but are aiming to complete their task well inside the 36 hours allowed by the organisers.
For coach Butcher, the commitment shown by the Babes in training since the serious preparatory work commenced back in November has been outstanding.
They have built up to the point where they have been walking four to six times a week for one to two hours on weekdays and up to three to four hours at weekends and there have also been walks where they have been out for between six to eight hours.
"They've walked up some bloody big hills in the Tararua, Rimutakas and at Wanganui, they are really fit and have done fantastic," Butcher said, quipping that on the many occasions he had accompanied them, he had often been forced into a jog to keep up.
"They don't muck around, they get stuck in," he said.