Although Brandt stood down as the Chancellor of West Germany in 1974, he remained the leader of the SPD until 1987. Although he hadn’t always been sure that Germany would reunite, he saw the collapse of communism across Central and Eastern Europe as well as the beginnings of German integration. He was known for the phrase “Now grows together what belongs together” for Germany and he is seen as one of the greatest of all German leaders.
There were plenty of media screens around the place and they switched to subtitles in English when I placed my card against the panel. All nicely done.
A series of photos of Brandt.
There was a little special exhibition at the end of the museum tour with this section pointed away from the main doors. The letter in the display is in French and was written by Brandt to Jacob Walcher (1887-1970) on 31 October 1936. Walcher sent Brandt to do political work in Norway and their friendship broke in 1946 as their political views diverged too much.
A photo of the building from 1930 when it was used as a library.
A sculpture of Brandt created by Rainer Fetting in 1996.
Willy Brandt (1913-1992).
I very much liked this small museum, although it only took around thirty minutes to look around it. The team members were friendly and welcoming, with much of the text in English. I liked how the media had English subtitles for those that wanted it and I learned a great deal about European politics from this period as well as about Willy Brandt. There’s no admission charge and I thought that it was all really quite lovely.
Continuing my riveting account of the Willy Brandt House in Lübeck, this is a photograph of Brandt along with JF Kennedy and Konrad Adenauer on 26 June 1963. This is was when Kennedy made the speech:
“Two thousand years ago — Two thousand years ago, the proudest boast was ‘civis Romanus sum.’ Today, in the world of freedom, the proudest boast is ‘Ich bin ein Berliner.’”
Although I rather like his line in the same speech:
“Freedom has many difficulties and democracy is not perfect. But we have never had to put a wall up to keep our people in.”
Anyway, Brandt was here in his role as the fourth governing Mayor of Berlin, a role that he held from 3 October 1957 until 1 December 1966.
The Nobel Peace Prize that was awarded to Willy Brandt on 10 December 1971. He was awarded the Peace Prize for both his work in unifying Europe and the development of the EEC, as well as reconciling West Berlin with the countries in eastern Europe.
Political campaigning posters.
This large space was used to put some televisions on as part of a media room, but it did feel like they were trying to stretch their exhibits out a little bit. There’s probably much more that could be done in a space like this. There were lots of interesting film clips here telling the story of Brandt being the Chancellor of West Germany between 22 October 1969 and 7 May 1974. His resignation came about following the Günter Guillaume scandal, he was one of Brandt’s advisers who it was revealed was a Stasi informant.
Brandt’s schedule for his last day as Chancellor.
Brandt’s resignation letter to the Federal President Gustav Heinemann on 6 May 1974.
It was the end of an era, but his work on foreign policy was hugely significant and hence the Nobel Peace Prize. Brandt’s Government also pursued domestic reforms, including expansion of education, welfare and civil liberties, all leading towards a more socially liberal and outward-looking West Germany. His time of office saw Germany becoming more democratic, more self-confident and more honest about its past.
The thing that I learned was that his kneeling at the Warsaw Ghetto memorial in 1970 became one of the great symbolic gestures of post-war reconciliation. I will look out for the memorial to his visit which is in Warsaw and I hadn’t noticed before, but he knelt as a sign of atonement for the Nazi damage to Germany. It was controversial amongst Germans, but shifted the entire debate. Very brave.
It’s moments like this which are a reminder of how interconnected religious figures were around northern Europe. This figure of St Thomas Becket of Canterbury is a good example, although this is a 1927 copy. The original was made in Lübeck by Bernt Notke (1440-1509) for the church of Skeppstuna in Sweden. I’d been trying to establish where I’d heard of him before, but it’s because of his Danse Macabre in Tallinn.
It shows how far the cult of Becket travelled after his murder in Canterbury Cathedral in 1170. A saint violently and sub-optimally dispatched in England somehow ended up represented in splendid painted and gilded wood for a Swedish church. The face is especially compelling as it’s pale, stern, pink-cheeked and direct, with the slightly fixed expression of someone who has seen the workings of power from rather too close a distance. The detail is decadent without being delicate; the gloved hands, the red book, the halo, the painted canopy and the little flashes of blue and gold all turn the sculpture into something quite noteworthy.
There’s really not much of excitement visible at Anglia Square now, certainly not without me going on the top deck of a bus to see over the top of the hoarding that has now been put up. It’s a shame that they didn’t put some plastic screens up so people could see in, that seems quite common at many sites and would have likely interested a fair number of people here. Anyway, these are the only photos that I could take of the site.
This interview is Graham Sherwood, a member of the NEC, who gives some great advice on completing 100s. And what a debut for a social walk that he got himself mentioned in Strider! This photo of Graham was taken at Pooh Bridge on the Kent social walk in April 2026.
Q. Could you briefly introduce yourself, including your role as LDWA groups officer, and how many LDWA 100s have you entered?
A. I’m Graham Sherwood, LDWA local groups officer, secretary of Merseystride LDWA and co-organiser of the Open to Offas challenge event. As local groups officer, my role is to help the 41 local LDWA groups, who are the backbone of the organisation, to thrive. I joined the LDWA in 2018 having heard good things about it from fellow participants on a 35 mile charity challenge walk along the Llangollen Round. Although I did a couple of 50 mile events shortly after joining, the thought of a 100 was just crazy. However, in May 2019, I somehow found myself on the Hadrian 100, and thanks to the support I received from other walkers and encouragement from marshals I managed to complete the event. In total now I have started five and completed four 100s – on the Trans-Pennine 100 I retired at 67 miles.
Q. What made you decide to take on this year’s LDWA 100 in Kent?
A. Once you start doing 100s, they become addictive. I know I can walk a hundred miles over two days and two nights and I want to prove to myself that I can do it again.
Q. What are you most looking forward to about the route and the event weekend?
A. I’m looking forward to getting to know this part of Kent and East Sussex better. I’m also looking forward to the social aspect of the 100 – shared adversity and pain, and hopefully a few laughs.
Q. Have you walked much in Kent before, and is there anything about the landscape or area that particularly appeals to you?
A. Having grown up in the Chilterns, I love chalk landscapes. I am most familiar with the area around Dover. Although I live in North Wales, my very first LDWA social walk was with Kent group in June 2018 – a 42 mile dawn to dusk walk led by this year’s 100s chair, Peter Jull. I distinguished myself by having a funny turn in the pub we called into in the afternoon and getting written up in Strider as a “fainting episode”. I’ve also completed the White Cliffs challenge four times and the Sevenoaks circular once.
Q. How has your training and preparation been going so far?
A. I hope reasonably well. I try to get out on a social walk at least once a week, mainly with The Irregulars or Merseystride, but I’ve also joined walks organised by East Lancs and Kent in the last few weeks. I managed to complete the Cymoedd Sir Fynwy 50 in South Wales this year, something I failed to do two years ago and I’ve also completed challenge events organised by Lakeland, West Lancs and Essex and Herts groups this year.
Q. When you think about the 100, are you mainly focused on finishing, enjoying the route, managing the pace or some slightly alarming combination of all three?
A. I am a slow walker and I will be focussing on getting round this route within the 48 hours – I walked a 12 mile section of the route through Ashdown Forest to Crowborough with Kent group a few weeks ago and know it’s going to be tough underfoot and very challenging. This is the first time I have ever done anything resembling a recce. My normal recce consists of a couple of fly-throughs on OS Maps and checking the gpx route on my Locus Map app.
Q. What do you most enjoy about the atmosphere of a 100-mile event?
A. The 100 brings the LDWA membership together – talking about it on social walks before and after the event. The support you get from other participants and volunteers at checkpoints.
Q. Do you have any advice for entrants, particularly at times when they’re tired and when perhaps the enthusiasm has dimmed a little?
A. The 100 is a mental as well as a physical challenge – I find the first night tougher than the second as I always feel sick. The hallucinations on the second night are rather fun. On my first hundred I got to the Kent checkpoint some 30 hours in determined to retire. Graham Smith told me to sit down, have a cup of soup and wait half an hour. That was great advice.
Q. Food can become rather important on a long event, sometimes to a level that would alarm anyone outside the LDWA. Are there any checkpoint foods or walking snacks you’ll be especially hoping for?
A. I need plenty of salty foods to keep me going. It’s essential to keep eating at every checkpoint as if you aren’t careful you start feeling sick and it gets really hard to eat.
Q. As someone involved with LDWA groups nationally, what do you think events like the 100 show about the strength of the association and its volunteers?
A. The 100 is a fantastic showcase for the LDWA and goes to show the dedication and determination of its members. I really admire those at HQ and at the checkpoints who help the participants complete the challenge – their support, encouragement and, of course, food are invaluable – we couldn’t do it without you.
Q. Finally, when you reach the start line in Kent, what do you think will be going through your mind?
A. I’m going to be glad to see familiar faces but nervous – this is going to be a particularly challenging route because it is hilly, the ground is rough underfoot and there are a lot of stiles.
I like a political museum and The Willy Brandt House in Lübeck occupies a restored patrician house at Königstraße 21. The idea of creating a memorial to Brandt in his home city was encouraged by Günter Grass, who has his own museum nearby and which I also visited. This building was given by the city and it had previously served the Zirkelgesellschaft of long-distance merchants, later housed the appeal court for the four free cities of Bremen, Hamburg, Frankfurt am Main and Lübeck, and was also used as the city archive and public library. In short, it’s been used for lots of different purposes and has no direct link to Brandt, which felt slightly sub-optimal.
I didn’t know much about Willy Brandt when I entered the museum, I just knew that he was a German statesman who served as Chancellor of West Germany from 1969 to 1974. He was a leading Social Democrat, a former mayor of West Berlin and one of the key figures in post-war European politics, but that was as far as my knowledge went. There’s no admission charge and there was a friendly welcome from the staff member and I was given a brief introduction and a media card so that I could access audio elements in English.
This is the typewriter owner by Martha Szperalski (1893-1964), born Martha Klinge, who was a Lübeck stenotypist and anti-Nazi resistance figure linked to the young Willy Brandt, then still Herbert Frahm. She worked as a shorthand typist, including recording sessions of the Lübeck Senate, and was active with her husband Johann Szperalski in the underground Socialist Workers’ Party, the SAP, after the Nazis came to power.
This is Willy Brandt’s Norwegian passport issued to him on 1 August 1940. On this matter, Willy Brandt was born Herbert Ernst Karl Frahm. He changed his name because he went into anti-Nazi exile after Hitler came to power in 1933 and needed a safer political identity. “Willy Brandt” began as a pseudonym during his underground socialist resistance work and exile, especially while he was in Norway. He stuck with the name after the Second World War came to an end and then in 1949 he made it his legal name, but more on that in a moment.
This is an October 1944 political letter from German socialist exiles in Stockholm to the leadership of the SPD group there. It is dated from Stockholm, 9 October 1944, and addressed “An den Vorstand der SPD-Gruppe Stockholm” or “To the executive committee of the SPD group Stockholm”. The signatories are applying to be accepted into the local SPD organisation and this is significant as it is a formal political statement by exiles who want to join, or rejoin, the Social Democratic Party framework. The people signing the letter had belonged to the SAP, the Sozialistische Arbeiterpartei Deutschlands, the Socialist Workers’ Party of Germany. This was a left-socialist breakaway from the SPD, founded in the early 1930s.
The peace objectives of the democratic socialists, published on 1 May 1943.
And here’s the formal confirmation of his name change, issued on 11 August 1949.
This is Willy Brandt’s provisional mandate card for the first Bundestag of the Federal Republic of Germany. It dates from 1949, just as West Germany’s new democratic parliament was being created after the war, so it is a rather small piece of paper carrying a very large constitutional moment. West Berlin had a peculiar and in some ways sub-optimal status after the war. It found itself politically tied to West Germany, but because of the Allied occupation arrangements it was not a full federal state in the ordinary way. Berlin representatives could take part in the Bundestag, but they did not initially have the same full voting rights as directly elected members from the West German Länder. The Cold War certainly led to some awkward situations….
Anyway, more of this riveting (or something like that) account of the museum in the next post.
This stumbling stone is located outside Katharinenstraße 53 in Lübeck, commemorating the life of Paul Gerbaulet, who was born on 1 April 1910 in Epe, in western Münsterland. He came from a family of blacksmiths, cattle traders and butchers, but his father’s work as a dispatcher allowed the children a good education. Paul studied veterinary medicine in Münster and he enjoyed working as a vet.
After the outbreak of war, Gerbaulet was called up for military service. In September 1940 he moved to Lübeck, lodging with the Ahrens family at Katharinenstraße 53, a household which appears to have had connections with people opposed to the Nazi regime. He had only been in the city for a little over two months when, on 26 November 1940, he was arrested by the Lübeck criminal police. He was facing prosecution under Paragraph 175, the law used by the Nazi state to persecute men for homosexuality, and was taken first to Lübeck-Lauerhof before being transferred to Hamburg.
The last part of his story is almost unbearable. Gerbaulet served in various military units, was wounded in action in 1941 and was later held in Hamburg. On 31 March 1942, the day before his 32nd birthday, he was shot at the Höltigbaum military training ground in Hamburg-Rahlstedt after being sentenced to death. His parents travelled to Hamburg; his father accompanied him, under guard, from the cell to the shooting range. Gerbaulet was asked whether he wanted to be blindfolded. He refused. Then he was shot in front of his parents.
This story is horrendous at every single level. His parents must have been haunted for the rest of their lives at not just the loss of their child, but the manner in which it happened. There is very little information about Paul online, just that provided by the organisation that places the stumbling stones and they’ve done a marvellous job in ensuring that he won’t be entirely forgotten. The bravery that Paul showed is astounding, he is one of the heroes that should be remembered in this city and I’m not entirely sure that he is.
This interview is with Jane Bates who has completed four LDWA hundreds and is volunteering at this year’s event. There are lots of really useful tips here for those who are coming to the event for the first time and aren’t entirely sure what to expect.
Q. Could you briefly introduce yourself and say how you first became involved with the LDWA and long-distance walking?
A. In my working life I was a chartered accountant feeling a bit bored (well I was an accountant🤣) and about 20 years ago saw a programme on the Moonwalk and thought I can’t run a marathon but perhaps walking one is possible. So I trained for that, reignited my enthusiasm for walking and then joined my local LDWA group Sussex for the social walks. Then a few years later I started doing challenge events and then back in 2012 I did my first 50. Then in horror realised I was qualified for a 100; but was I really up for that big of a challenge ??
Q. You’ve completed four 100s, with two on marshal events and two on main events. Looking back, what do you remember most strongly from those finishes?
A. Of the actual finishing it has always been a bit of an anticlimax but then the next day the reality of the success of finishing hits me and I am so chuffed with myself.
Of the walks itself I enjoy the actual walk for the first 50, after that I could be walking anywhere, it is just checkpoint to checkpoint. I have done some of them on my own but always end up walking with other lovely LDWA entrants and the chatting really helps. Every finish was after dawn on the Monday and I just had to accept I would be walking through 2 nights, but that does mean walking through 2 dawns which with hindsight is my favourite time on long challenge walks.
Q. You mentioned that you have also had four 100s where you didn’t complete. What have those experiences taught you about the event, the distance and yourself?
A. My first attempt and my first non completion was the Welsh Valleys. A very respectable one to fail on (but walking 70+ miles in constant rain is definitely not failure) but others did finish so I was just not tough enough. A lot more training the next year led to success on Red Rose. Then I got complacent and again ‘failed’ at 70 miles on Dorset 100 – that followed the rule of should never underestimate the challenge.
Next non completion was the Covid era self created one – that really showed me the importance of support at proper checkpoints. My final non completion was Speyside – just not in the right headspace – again shows that the 100 is not just a physical challenge but is even more of a personal mental challenge – you have to want to finish.
What did these teach me?
Completing one does not mean that you will complete all others, never underrate the challenge both physically and mentally.
Training does matter, the EBB was successfully completed on the back of walking 600 miles of the Camino Norte, repeated by walking 15 miles a day for a month prior to Flower of Suffolk.
Food is key to me. Not eating enough early causes me to run out of energy at 70 miles.
Bigger trainers, and even bigger trainers in breakfast bag, I am not one of those people who can walk on massive blisters. I have finished with no blisters.
Q. As someone who describes herself as one of the slower walkers, what do you think people misunderstand about taking on a 100 at that end of the field?
A. You have to accept that second night of walking. The faster walkers do not understand that at all. At the back the objective is doing what you have to do to finish in under 48 hours and nothing to do with a fastest time. The luxury is taking your time at checkpoints, perhaps having a cheeky little power nap. Checkpoint close times can be tight on earlier checkpoints (a close time that allows 2 mph from then to end can be too tight especially with early hills).
The worst is the lack of food, or the lack of choice. I have had a few occasions when there has been practically nothing left. This can be the difference between success and failure. I have never understood why quantities supplied to checkpoints are so small – I would always prefer to pay another £10 and not have this problem. There are reviews of groaning tables of food from faster walkers; when I get there there is a Twiglet and if I am lucky stories from the marshals of emergency food deliveries that have just arrived
Q. Is there a particular moment during a 100 when things usually become hardest for you, and what has helped you keep going when it has worked out?
A. Oddly the early hours of the first night can be very difficult. So tired but so far to go. What works for me is accepting that a short power nap might help. But once dawn arrives I do feel much better. In general it is ‘ can I have a go at the next stage to next checkpoint’ and not thinking any further.
Q. You’ve experienced both marshal events and main events as a walker. How different do they feel, and do you enjoy them in different ways?
A. Main events have a great buzz to them but do feel a bit impersonal, also more risk of no food. Marshal events can mean walking on your own, but that does not worry me – the route finding keeps me awake. But friendlier checkpoints as marshals have more time for you.
Q. Food can become strangely important on a 100-mile event. What have you learned about what keeps you going and what do you look forwards to?
A. I have learnt that the usual small snacks at CP1 do not work for me. My body says lunchtime. I have learnt to take my own food for this one, a Higgidy pie works well. Then I need to eat as much as I can for as long as possible. That means making myself eat between checkpoints as well as checkpoints. A full cooked breakfast I can’t cope with, but porridge and egg on toast can work.
Then it is just odd what you want to eat, sometimes savoury, sometimes sweet, sometimes bland, sometimes a real desire for something with taste. Often very easy food like yoghurt or rice pudding and tinned fruit just hits the spot. I avoid lots of bread and bought in ultra processed ‘muck’ such as my dreaded Tesco mini flapjacks and brownies, and never drink squash, just water and tea. That helps avoid ‘tummy’ problems.
But what I really look forward to is anything homemade, to me that is real LDWA challenge event catering.
Q. You’ve also helped as a marshal on events including the Flower of Suffolk, this year’s marshal event and the main event. What do you enjoy about being on the support side of things?
A. Giving that bit of TLC that allows entrants to carry on. And of course still being part of the great institution that is the ‘100’ without the effort of being an entrant. 🤣 And its always a learning experience that I can take back to improve our own group’s challenge events.
Q. From a marshal’s point of view, what makes the biggest difference to walkers when they arrive tired, hungry or having a difficult patch?
A. Someone sitting them down, bringing tea and food to them. Perhaps sitting and chatting with them, so they take the time to recover. Many can’t eat anything when they arrive and they just need time to start eating again, often a yoghurt or something else very simple. It’s great to see them recover and go off to the next checkpoint.
Q. What advice would you give to someone entering their first 100, especially if they are nervous about being slow, struggling or not knowing quite what to expect?
A. Train but don’t overtrain. You have done a 50. You don’t need to overtire your body with lots of 30s and 50s just before the event, just walk lots and regularly. Really cut back in the last few weeks – a runners taper. The first 50 is in your legs the last 50 is in your mind. Don’t think of how far you have to go, just concentrate on getting to the next checkpoint. This first 100 aim is to complete not to go fast. Keep the tank full, take the time to eat early on. Later on you will not be able to eat much. Drink more than on shorter challenge events; many people can do 30 miles on little food and water but they are not in good shape to do another 70.
Don’t let the early adrenaline get to you. Keep a sensible pace and don’t rush. Going fast ruins your feet. If it’s hot just drop the pace, it will cool off later on and you can speed up then. Take care of your feet. Don’t wait for a checkpoint to sort out a hotspot. Change socks at 25, change to bigger shoes at breakfast, change socks again at 75ish.
Have confidence that you know what works for you; all those other challenge events have refined your night navigation, route finding, clothing choices etc. Don’t worry about reccy of whole route, the route description and GPX file will be very good, if you have limited time reccy the night sections.
This interview is with David Morgan who hasn’t only completed 24 LDWA hundreds, but he’s also marshalled at them and organised them, as well as being a former LDWA chair and 100’s co-ordinator. And here he comes striding in at the marshals’ event in early May 2026. One day I might walk a 100 with David, although I suspect given the pace that he does it might be for just a couple of miles….. On a personal note and back to my heroic 100 in 2021 (that I hardly mention), David was one of the main reasons that I got around following his advice and support.
Anyway, onto the questions!
Q. You’ve got a great deal of experience with 100s as a walker, marshal and organiser. What keeps you coming back to the event in all those different roles?
A. I like the camaraderie that the annual 100 event produces. I love the physical challenge that walking 100 miles brings knowing that few people in ordinary life can complete what we do in the LDWA. I love seeing others succeed particularly when they have faced challenges and have shown resilience to push through and ultimately succeed.
Q. Having walked the marshal’s event this year, what were your overall impressions of the Hunnypot 100 route?
A. The route is cleverly designed and in a county that is in close proximity to our capital city, I was amazed at how rural it felt for its entire length. The North Downs were particularly pretty but I was feeling rather jaded when I walked along them. I am looking forward to returning for the main event and videoing the entrants passing through this pretty area as part of my duties with the LDWA Media Team.
Q. Were there any sections that stood out to you as especially rewarding, whether because of the scenery, the variety, the route design or the satisfaction of getting through them?
A. I found the night section particularly difficult as I was walking alone. The navigation was intricate and I made several mistakes. As the dawn chorus commenced and I was approaching Felbridge, I felt at that time as if I had passed an important milestone.
Q. Some parts of a 100 are always going to ask a bit more of walkers than others. From your experience on the marshal’s event, where do you think that entrants may need to manage themselves carefully?
A. Recent 100s have been quite flat. Hunnypot 100 returns height ascent to the equation and this time the steepest rises are in the final third. Entrants would be well advised to reserve energy levels for the last 30 miles and not go too hard too soon on the event.
Q. With your organiser’s eye, what do you notice on a 100 that most entrants probably never see or think about?
A. On this occasion I looked at why the route was a clockwise route. To my mind an anticlockwise route might have had other benefits. But then one considers what facilities the organisers needed to.work with, ie, village halls and schools and one then begins to understand as to why the route choice was made.
Q. There will obviously have to be a food question and I’m very pleased at your recent social media having more culinary content. From your own experience, what food do you look forward to seeing at a checkpoint and how do you manage your food intake across the event?
A. I think you’re referring to my gargantuan calorific intake in Italy following the Hunnypot 100! [JW – I was, the Italian food looking amazing] I like to eat little and often at all checkpoints in order to keep putting calories in for future energy needs. This is easier said than done when one feels nauseous and on Hunnypot 100 I had a queasy stomach for many miles.
A crumpet with tomato puree and melted cheese always works well, although being served home made dhal and naan breads at CP4 hit the spot!
Q. How important is the tone of encouragement from marshals, and what sort of things are genuinely useful to say to someone who still has a long way to go?
A. The work of the marshals is crucial. They are often empathetic because they know what you’re experiencing. They’ve been there and done it. Just remind people not to look at the big picture but concentrate on bite size pieces and walk checkpoint to checkpoint!
Q. Are there any simple practical things at checkpoints that can make a big difference to entrants, especially those who are new to the 100?
A. This is a tricky question to answer as people will have different views. Checkpoints can be seen as oasis and on arrival it is easy to enter a time vortex. Don’t dawdle. On approach to the checkpoint go through in your mind what you want to achieve. Perhaps it’s a sock change, topping up of a water bottle or eating some food. Do it efficiently and then get moving or otherwise the 15 minutes you planned soon turn to 30.
Q. What advice would you give to someone taking on their first 100, especially if they find themselves having a tough spell and wondering whether everyone else is coping rather more elegantly?
A. Never ever give up on initially arriving at a checkpoint. Sit down, eat food, drink tea, talk to others and you will soon realise that the person at the next table feels exactly the same way you do. Then leave the checkpoint and tell yourself that you’re only walking to the next checkpoint. Repeat several times and you’ll soon be at the finish receiving the warmest applause in the UK!
This interview is with Rebecca Lawrence who has completed eleven LDWA hundreds which is some considerable achievement. And the little mistake that she made on the Yoredale 100 is very much one that I might make…. There’s lots of useful tips here that will likely be very useful for anyone attempting their first 100.
Q. Could you briefly introduce yourself and say how you first became involved with the LDWA and long-distance walking?
A. I first started walking in my teens. I had a horse on loan, details of which I kept from my parents (as I couldn’t quite afford it out of my paper round money so it involved supplementing the costs out of my dinner money which they would not have allowed if they had have known) so I had to be very vague about my whereabouts at the weekend and couldn’t ask for lifts to places. I started walking the 3 miles there and 3 miles back on a regular basis and it kind of went on from there, my love of walking and the independence it gave me away from my parents. I remember being really proud of myself for walking 15 miles in my adulthood and then going on holiday and meeting someone who told me about the LDWA and mentioned the 100! I couldn’t believe people could walk 100 miles in one go but I was curious and joined and discovered a whole world of challenge walking and like minded people. The first challenge walk I signed up to was the Pathfinder March – 46 miles and it nearly killed me. I wore heavy boots and had done very little preparation but finished. I then went onto do the Poppyline 50 – a fabulous event held in Norfolk. It was when I was sat in a tent in a forest at 3am with people who all thought it “normal” that I really felt accepted and knew I had found my people. Away from walking I am a keen horse rider and work wise I manage the Audiology Department at Birmingham Children’s Hospital.
Q. You’ve started 15 Hundreds and completed 11 of them. What keeps bringing you back to the distance after so many years and so many miles?
A. The 100 is a beast to be respected. There’s no other way to describe it. You learn so much about yourself and how to improve your resilience in all situations in life and not to fall at the first hurdle no matter how tough things can get. Because of this I consider that it’s a mental challenge. Of course you do have to be physically able to do it as well, but the real strength comes in carrying on when your body is screaming at you to stop, working through your lows and appreciating the highs, and it’s the people you meant along the way. For me the real heroes are those who take every second of the 48 hours allowed. I do think its quite addictive. At the time you tell yourself “no more I’m done” and then a few days later you find yourself looking at next years……
Q. If you complete the Hunnypot 100, it will be your 12th finish. Does that still feel special, or does experience make the whole thing feel more familiar now?
A. Every 100 is special and I have very clear memories of each one. Each one has its own challenges and sting in the tail. Hunnypot 100 does feel particularly special as I love trees and the area is full of them! Sussex and Kent are real hidden gems in terms of beauty and well worth the trip round the M25. The Elephant Bear and Bull was especially special. I did it in aid of a colleague who was an inpatient for a while. Unfortunately whilst recceing the route for it; I had planned to walk 25 miles each day over 4 days, I turned and fractured my ankle 4 miles in! I carried on with the recce, vomiting with pain on the first evening, wrapped my ankle up with vet wrap and did the other 3 days. After a week when it was still hurting I finally got it x rayed and was told it was fractured. When I asked about doing the 100 in 3 weeks time the Consultant laughed. I emailed the organisers to make sure they were happy with me to give it a go and I finished it. I was being sponsored so it was important to me. Sometimes having something to drive you on like that really helps.
Q. Tell me more about what happened at the Yoredale 100!
A. Oh dear…..well it was a sunny weekend and I was going quite well initially into the first night, but there was a head wind. It didn’t seem to matter which way you turned, the gale was straight in your face which started to sap energy. I walked through Sat night but sometime after lunch on Sunday I started to really flag. I had made a fundamental error and ignored sore points on my feet which had now exploded into blisters and I had 20 miles still to go. With the head wind I was down to 2mph and it felt like trying to walk with the handbrake on. Factor in a lovely pub, everyone sat outside looking happy and relaxed…..just one pint won’t hurt would it?! Well I don’t need to tell you the rest. That was game over. I had some friends who were using my Travelodge room whilst I was walking and they had decorated it with congratulations posters. I couldn’t tell them the real story…
Q. Having completed 11 and not completed four, what have the unsuccessful attempts taught you that the successful ones perhaps didn’t?
A. Interesting question. I believe we do learn more from our unsuccessful attempts than we do our successful ones.
1 – don’t go into any pubs en route until the end
2 – Feet feet feet – do not ignore sore spots / discomfort
3 – invest in waterproofs that really are waterproof
4 – don’t hand your tally in straight away, have a drink, some food and a chat
5 – see it as a series of short walks, never allow yourself to calculate how much you have left to go until you are in single figures
6 – don’t do anything new
7 – allow yourself to eat and drink as much as you want and need
8 – take rehydration salts
9 – go with a clear head with no stresses – if you are stressed about needing to finish by a certain time you might as well not start
Q. How do you approach training and preparation now compared with when you were taking on your first few Hundreds?
A. I am more prepared re the route – you don’t want to go wrong even for a few yards. Training wise this can be tricky, I work full time but I try to do a 25 miler every other week from Feb onwards and the 50, but it is important not to start the 100 tired. The rule I give myself is you should be able to do 25 miles comfortably. The best training I find is the recce – 25 miles every day for 4 days 3-4 weeks before the event is the best training you can have in my opinion.
Q. Food can become strangely important on a 100-mile event. After so many starts, what have you learned about what keeps you going and what do you look forward to?
A. I look forward to anything that slips down. Pasta and cheese are favourites, egg sandwiches or just plain boiled eggs are normally quite palatable. I can’t stomach anything too heavy and have a meal replacement shake in my breakfast bag as I don’t seem to be able to cope with the cooked breakfast without it making me nauseous.
Q. You’ve recced about 70% of the Hunnypot route, though section 4 seems to have already made its intentions clear. How useful do you find recces, and does getting lost beforehand help or merely add to the sense of impending doom?
A. Recce’s give me confidence. Although I often find myself walking with people, I have started most hundreds these days on my own. The thought of being lost in the Ashdown forest at 3am on my own doesn’t fill me with excitement. I worked out how and where I went wrong on the recce so hopefully won’t repeat. I’ve always been a map and Route Description kind of girl, butting against following a GPX breadcrumb trail but after getting lost on the recce and realising that Ashdown forest will be my night section I have paid for OS maps on my phone to have as backup. Recce’s also act as a way of seeing and enjoying the route without the pressure of the event and if you do sections consecutively, its an excellent way to get that extra bit of fitness in before the event.
Q. What advice would you give to someone taking on their first 100, especially about pacing, keeping calm and not being lured into a comfortable pub at mile 80?
A. You’re going to have low points and that’s normal. It doesn’t mean you won’t finish.
Don’t go with any expectations as to when you think you might finish as that can be soul destroying – expect to go through a 2nd night and anything less is a bonus.
See it as a series of short walks – you might think you can’t get to the finish when you are having a low point, but can you make it another 7 miles to the next checkpoint?
Don’t go off too fast – I personally prefer walking on my own and joining up with people for a few miles that happen to be going at your pace as you can speed up when you want and slow down when you want. Walking as a group is tiring.
Take as much or as little time as you need at checkpoints.
Don’t navigate by committee, have a clear idea where you are going and stick to it.
Don’t go to the pub however inviting it may look….
Q. After 15 starts, are there any small signs early in a 100 that tell you whether it is going to be a good day, a difficult day, or one of those character-building little arrangements that the LDWA seems to specialise in?
A. The weather can play a really important part. If its tipping it down at the start line it just adds another factor of difficulty into the equation.
Q. When you look back after the Hunnypot 100, what would make this year’s event feel like a success for you?
A. Knowing whatever happens, I’ve tried my best. You can never predict how its going to go and there are many factors out of your control. Finishing would be lovely but just being part of this amazing event is a real privilege and a credit to all the organisation and volunteers.
