Before the performance, I was very apprehensive about my ability to complete the task, after I found our last practice extremely difficult. I was not sure if my body could take the strain, after being ill for the last two weeks.

However, the team were incredibly energized at the beginning and were looking forward to getting started. We decided to go three at a time, while one person sat out and then every 5 laps one person would swap. We also made sure to take each person’s blood pressure every 25 minutes.

The first few laps were difficult but once our bodies got used to the strain it became easier. We also managed to involve numerous members of the public who did some laps for us, which we were grateful for because, without them, we would not have reached our target.

While this was taking place, we kept a tally of everyone’s laps and then I calculated how many we had done each hour and made an announcement on the hour. This was another way we could encourage the public to join in with our challenge.

This was what our final tally looked like:

Once we had completed our challenge, I calculated our total laps, distance, steps etc… and these were our results:

Times travelled up the hill

Us: 71 times each

Individual total = 71 times = 7097.16 metres (4.4 miles)

Total times travelled (minus public) = 284 times

Total distance travelled (minus public) = 28,388.64 metres (17.6 miles)

Public: 99 times

Total times travelled (inc. public) = 383 times

Total distance travelled (inc. public) = 38,248.68 metres (23.8 miles)

Laps completed  after each hour:

1 hour: 91 times

2 hours: 232 times

3 hours: 318 times

4 Hours: 383 times

This shows just how much we slowed down over the 4 hours as our bodies started to become exhausted.

Steps (calculated using a pedometer, which Jessica wore)

Steps individual = 13,786 steps

Steps everyone (minus public) = 55,144 steps

One lap (up and down Steep Hill once) = 194 steps approximately

so…

Steps everyone (inc. public) = 74,302 steps

Average speed = 2.5 km/ph (started off at 4.5 km/ph)

Time = 240:04 minutes

We reached our target of 331 laps up and down Steep Hill (33,019 metres) at approximately 2.15pm

Strangely enough, this was almost the exact same time that I hit a wall and found myself so physically and mentally drained that the thought of climbing back up the hill seemed almost impossible.

These were the blood pressure and heart rate results, which Rebecca kept track of.

	Kate		Rebecca
Approximate Time +/- 5 (Minutes)	Blood Pressure	Heart Rate	Blood Pressure	Heart Rate
Start	128/68	82	117/82	102
24.46	157/90	121	174/91	97
51.06	137/126	131	125/144	99
76	167/97	131	181/77	104
96	183/85	124	143/96	108
124.45	156/81	113	124/89	99
148.5	143/94	134	150/108	112
175	144/90	127	175/109	126
198.45	148/79	117	(r)116/93	98
224.10	129/76	110	125/82	92

 

Paige		Jessica
Blood Pressure	Heart Rate	Blood Pressure	Heart Rate
159/90	102	99/80	95
146/84	121	(r)122/20	123
(r)151/92	132	143/80	146
100/96	127	(r)109/73	112
166/152	105	103/81	124
143/81	123	(r)113/72	104
141/90	103	112/68	117
142/87	122	118/73	116
160/115	115	117/72	119
156/76	134	107/56	108

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The boxes with an (r) means that person, at the time, was in the middle of their rest period when their blood pressure was taken

 

 

 

 

Looking at the table above, generally the blood pressure rises from our resting rate at the start, so it is clear that Steep Hill was putting a strain on our bodies.

This graph shows just how much our heart rate fluctuated during the 4 hour performance; clearly the challenge was having a direct effect on our bodies. The initial reaction, in the first 25 minutes, with the exception of Rebecca, was that our heart rates went up quite dramatically and, as our bodies got used to the strain over time, our heart rate slowed.

I was surprised at how mentally draining the performance was. Trying to keep yourself going while completing a very monotonous and strenuous task was difficult. We were all surprised at how mentally tiring the performance was and all agreed at the end that it took more willpower than we were expecting, to keep walking.

As a whole, I am thrilled with our performance. I think we put a lot of time and effort into developing our ideas and to have completed such a difficult challenge is a great feeling. We have completed a challenge, which no one has ever done before. We were surprisingly energized afterwards because the adrenaline was pumping.

I think we remained fairly focused throughout the whole process and maintained order when keeping the tally and taking blood pressure readings. Perhaps we could have been more regimented with this, however, the only way we could physically keep ourselves going at times was to try and make it as fun as possible and that enjoyment was distracting when trying to remain organised.

We also could have improved the blood pressure taking process. We did not factor in the time it would take to measure 4 people’s blood pressure every 25 minutes. That process may have lost us up to 1 hour so that made a huge difference to our end total. We set ourselves an individual task of completing 83 laps each, which would have added up to the grand total of 331 laps had we not had any input from the public. Unfortunately, we did not reach our individual total, which I found slightly disappointing.

This process has changed my ideas as to what is a performance. At the start, I thought a site specific performance would simply be acting in a particular place whereas our performance did not include any acting, all our reactions were natural. However, we performed a feat of endurance, which is something completely different but was still site specific. This module has made me look at performance in a completely different way and has broadened my understanding of what it is to be a performer.

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