Oxfam Trailwalker Japan 2010: Snakes and Ladders

After a week of retro carbloading (is that a thing..?) I finally feel strong enough to write up our experiences of the 2010 Oxfam Japan Trailwalker. In case you hadn’t heard, all 4 Snailwalkers finished in 42 hours 28 minutes. Considering the weather and conditions, we’re all pretty ecstatic with that result.

After 100km and 42 hours, 28 minutes - 4 wet and tired snails cross the finishing line.

A lot of people have been asking me what it was like to walk that 100km in 48 hours in the rain, hail, mud and sub-zero temperatures. As has been pointed out on many other write-ups I’ve seen, it’s basically impossible to describe the psychological torment of that 100km, and to try just trivializes it.

So here’s an alternative approach – I’ve turned our experiences into a board game for you to play at home. It’s the closest thing you will get to actually experiencing a 100km in the rain without having to go to all the effort of walking anywhere. Enjoy.

Trailwalker Snakes and Ladders

You will need:

1. Four relatively unfit people
2. A dice
3. 10 onigiri, 5 bananas, 5 instant pastas and 15 litres of sports drink
4. A shower
5. An ill-placed sense of adventure
6. A lot of heart
7. 48 hours

How to play

1. Print out the board

2. Find 4 things to use as markers – 4 onigiri will do fine.
3. Cook up an instant pasta and sit in the shower
4. Take it turns to roll the dice and follow the instructions on the board,
5. All 4 players must reach the finish to complete  the game. If you beat our time of 42 hours 28 minutes please let me know!

Good luck!