Category: LDWA

For various sub-optimal reasons, we were unable to see Rob finish later on in the event, but we saw him mid route and this was at about 75 miles. The length of this challenge hides that although this feels towards the end, it’s still an entire challenge event to be completed at this stage. Rob, who is naturally brave, was worn and tired at this stage with the heat having gotten to him. His plan was to spend longer at the checkpoint until the temperature calmed down a bit.

I’m pleased to say that his strategy worked and he finished the event after around 44 hours. Here’s Sarah’s photo of him after his lovely little stroll. Rob has also been kind enough to answer some questions about the event.

Q. What are your main overall memories of the Hunnypot 100?

A. The heat combined with the rolling hills. The amazing checkpoint marshals who, without their care and intervention to cool me down, I would never have finished. I have special thanks to the marshals at checkpoints 9 (Wiltshire and Dorset) and 10 (Cornwall and Devon). The superb organisation from Peter and his team, along with all marshals should be applauded.

I was very nervous before the start with the weather forecast. I came up with a plan that would see me take it slowly in the day and spend extended time in the checkpoints. Then walking faster in the evening and overnight when cooler. This put me in a mind frame that I would finish on the 2nd morning. This mostly worked.

The start affected many mentally as well as physically. The intense humidity and the number of walkers struggling early on was quite frightening. Before checkpoint 3, I was passing people who had stopped to rest as they struggled in the heat.

I liked the the Ashdown Forest even in the dark and the long climb up, I came face to face with a Stag Deer at one point (or maybe it was a Woozle or a Heffalump!), However the long 9 mile gap from the Horsted Keynes (checkpoint 8) through that hot shadeless Eden Valley I’ll always remember. I was overheating but kept shivering. Which made me worried about heat exhaustion, despite me ensuring I drank enough, hence why I stopped for so long at checkpoint 9.

I liked the climbs up the big hills near the end especially at Chevening and the amazing views from the Downs at night over the towns and villages below.

Finally the amazing feeling of finishing and the welcome at the end.

Q. I saw you at Ide Hill after around 75 miles and although you were looking very brave, you mentioned how hugely challenging it was. How did you get the energy to keep going?

A. Time. My overall desire was to retire at Idle Hill, but I knew I could spend an hour or more if I wanted, eat, drink, cooler down and leave a new person. Also to keep telling myself that was in the peak heat of the day and the weather would cool down mentally gave me confidence.

Q. Now that the heat and tiredness have been at least partly forgotten, which part of the walk did you enjoy the most?

A. The North Downs at the end, with amazing views, even at night. I felt that the best views I missed, being the Ashdown Forest (I never did get to play Pooh Sticks!) and the North Downs past Chevening. There is a connection with the 100’s and Kent for me. My first 100 was the Cinque Ports, also it was the Kent checkpoint that stopped me from retiring on the Hadrian Hundred when I got in trouble. Brian Buttifant was one of the marshalls that helped me so it was good to visit his bench, I’d like to do that again in the daytime.

Q. How are you feeling a few days on?

A. OK now, feet have mostly healed calves still feel a bit tight. Otherwise just cannot stop eating.

Q. Will you be doing it again? Or is it too early to say?

A. My initial thoughts after the event were no more. A few days on I’m now looking forward to next year, it should be a superb route in the beautiful Devon and Dorset countryside.

Q. Do you have any suggestions for organisers of future LDWA 100s?

A. If it is hot make salt/more salty snacks more available. I found that a bit lacking on the Hunnypot 100. I have seen debate around bringing the 100 forward, I think it’s something for discussion with the impact of climate change, albeit being mindful it did cool down later in the week.

I actually think there should be more comprehensive advice for entrants. Although every entrant is different, the only person you are racing against in an LDWA challenge is yourself. The 48 hours is there to be used, it’s not an aim to get a fast time. Tactically I feel I got it mostly right and finished. Although the Hunnypot 100 was extreme in its weather, some of the normally faster walkers would have benefited from slowing down and spending more time in checkpoints.

Before the Hunnypot 100, I interviewed a number of entrants about what they expected from the event and how their training was going. One of the entrants was Guy Evans, and he has kindly agreed to answer some post-event questions as well. It was also rather lovely to walk Guy in at the end, well, the last fifty metres anyway.

Q. What are your main memories of the Hunnypot 100?

A. Well the sun and the heat are the obvious and overriding memories. I’ll also remember the route – Kent might not have massive hills but it also doesn’t seem to have any flat bits either!

Q. You completed the event and came in the fastest 30 entrants. What strategies did you use to get around what appears to have been the hottest ever 100?

A. I slowed down. For the first 10 miles I was jogging the downhills, but after the first CP I walked everything. Even walking, I was still overheating. It quickly became apparent that it was much more about finishing lines than finishing times. I resolved to take it easy – in particular on the hills. I had a rough plan for when I was expecting to get to each checkpoint but I threw it away.

I was also taking more time at the checkpoints than normal to help cool down and recover. The volunteers at the checkpoints were brilliant. They must have been hot and tired too but were very patient and understanding – having water tipped onto the back of my neck was bliss.

I had a wetted buff but I’m not sure how much that helped – it dried out very quickly after each checkpoint! I also had electrolytes and salt tablets. I think I should have taken more of these. I made sure I was well hydrated – but from reading around afterwards suspect I might have taken on too much water and that was causing my blood sodium levels to drop.

Above all else, I took it from checkpoint to checkpoint. I had a wobble very early on when the thought of carrying on in this heat for the whole of Saturday, the whole night and then for the whole of Sunday (which was forecast to be hotter) just seemed too much. But just focus on the next checkpoint and the overall distance will take care of itself.

Q. Which part of the walk did you enjoy the most?

A. I said before that the night section wasn’t my favourite. This time it was! The coolness when the sun eventually set on Saturday was wonderful. The scenery in the last quarter was great and I just about had enough energy left to enjoy it (although I had a bit of a loss of sense of humour with the repeated ascents and in particular descents into Ide Hill checkpoint).

Q. Will you be doing it again? Or is it too early to say?

A. Another LDWA 100? Yes, for sure. 100%. I’m really looking forward to the next few which are in great parts of the country. I hear that the provisional Devon and Cornwall route has a lot of elevation – great!

Q. Do you have any suggestions for organisers of future LDWA 100s?

A. For me personally, don’t be afraid of making the route challenging. But, I really don’t feel in a position to make any suggestions. I’m incredibly grateful to the organisers and volunteers of the 100s for all the time and energy that they invest in putting them on. It’s a real privilege to be able to turn up and take part.

Before the 100, I interviewed a number of the entrants and so I’m catching up with some to find out how it all went. I love the phoenix from the ashes comment!

Q. What are your main memories of the Hunnypot 100?

A. I feel in some ways like the specifics are a bit of a blur, but the beautiful rolling countryside, and the chatter and buzz of the people is what pervades.

Q. Along with over half the entrants, you retired during the event, was it mostly heat related for you?

A. The heat was an indirect cause for me, in that I didn’t feel hot or ill at any point on the walk, but because I took too many electrolyte tablets, I felt uncomfortably thirsty for a couple of legs. I didn’t learn this until I spoke to the medic at checkpoint 4. Essentially I retired because knowing I had messed up, and sensory overload caused by a combination of several factors, prompted me to have a meltdown / panic attack. At that point I didn’t want to push through and risk needing assistance in the middle of nowhere in the dark, potentially jeopardising the finish for my walking buddy. Ultimately it comes down to lack of experience, and I have learned a lot from it that I will take forward to future events. Before the Hunnypot finished I had booked the Sussex Stride so that I can qualify for the Jurassic 100 next year.

Q. Which part of the walk did you enjoy the most?

A. I genuinely enjoyed all of it. The scenery was fab, the volunteers were amazing, the food was great, and the other participants were lovely. One thing I love which I think is a bit unusual is being overtaken by the speedy folk on the later starts as I love to see how smooth their form is and the glide past.

Q. Will you be doing it again? Or is it too early to say?

A. A phoenix always rises from the ashes and this Phoenyx is no exception.

Q. Do you have any suggestions for organisers of future LDWA 100s?

A. I’d like to see a more evenly staggered start. The entrants were split across the three start waves in 450/50/6 proportion which makes for a logistical nightmare. I arrived at HQ as soon as it opened so I didn’t get stuck in queues for registration, but as a mid pack walker I was right in with the masses at checkpoints. This meant queueing in hot stuffy halls, and I witnessed lots of people struggling to find space to sit. I think splitting the 450 across 9am, 9:30 and 10am starts would resolve this. I appreciate it means an hour earlier start for many volunteers, but I think it would make it less stressful for them too in terms of replenishing stocks at checkpoints.

I think with the unprecedented heat this year, now is a good time to look to the future and create a heatwave-proof contingency to set people up for success after the massive drop out rate this year. This might mean adjustments like a hot weather mandatory kit list where waterproofs can stay in the breakfast bag, checkpoints being closer together [I notice FOS100 had 16 vs HP100 having 13] or moving the south of England events to Easter and Mayday rather than Mayday and Spring Bank Holidays.

Either way, I have had such a positive experience I will be entering more LDWA events, and I even took the opportunity mid-walk, to volunteer myself to help at the Stansted Stagger as I have completed it twice now. I’ve also signed up for the BBN Pic n Mix this Sunday so I might see some of you there.

Guy Evans created this interesting infographic of where the retirements took place on the 100 this side, it’s an interesting snapshot of what happened along the route. The actual number was 471 started and 209 finished, the tracking data is slightly faffy but this is still an intriguing use of data. Over 100 retirements by CP5 shows how the hot weather was impacting entrants, many of them just didn’t feel that they could carry on.

Enfys was one of the entrants that I interviewed before the Hunnypot 100 and she kindly agreed to answer some questions about her experience of the whole hot 100. Enfys reached checkpoint 8, a considerable achievement in itself with the heat.

Q. What are your main memories of the Hunnypot 100?

A. My main memories of the Hunnypot are the heat. That made this event so incredibly challenging, as just two days before I had been on the beach in 12-degree weather with hailstones pounding down on me. The contrast was crazy. Other than that, I’ll remember the volunteers keeping me cool and taking the time to play Pooh sticks, which I lost.

Q. Along with over half the entrants, you retired during the event. Was it mostly heat related for you?

A. It was definitely heat related. My feet had blistered, as had my back, with more hot spots coming. I had to make a choice between finishing early on a high, having completed an excellent route with a medium amount of blistering, or finishing like last year, when I was in tears from the pain. I chose happy and satisfied, with wonderful memories.

Q. Which part of the walk did you enjoy the most?

A. The route delivered picturesque villages, shaded woodland and some lovely hills. My favourite part was climbing the hill from Pooh Bridge just as the sun was setting.

Q. Will you be doing it again? Or is it too early to say?

A. Of course I will be doing it again, it’s so much fun. In 2027 I’m taking a year out to do some events that I normally can’t do, as I prioritise the Hundred. However, in 2028 I will be back and can’t wait to get on the paths in the place where my long-distance walking began.

Q. Do you have any suggestions for organisers of future LDWA 100s?

A. The organisation and volunteers on the Hundred are unmatched. However, I would be interested to know if it is logistically possible to move event start times forward in the future, if we encounter another hot event.

I’ve dusted off my previous page at https://www.julianwhite.uk/ldwa-100/ all about the LDWA 100.

Huge congratulations to Fiona Gosling, Adrian Gosling, Alan Gray and Alzbeta Benn, who were the final four entrants to come back in. They were within the 48 hour time limit and their achievement is astounding, to walk for that length of time and in those extremely hot conditions is pushing the human body to what it can achieve.

To have the willpower to carry on with the requirement not to be timed out during the event is amazing. Heroes I tell you…… To come in at that point, still moving forward after everything the event had thrown at them, was a wonderful and rather humbling sight.

There’s more content at http://julianwhite.uk/ldwa-100 and this will all eventually get moved to the new LDWA digital platform.

For now, a few more photos I took of the finishers who came in right towards the end of the event. There’s something extra heroic about these entrants as they went through the heat of two days and then walked through two nights.

Here’s Malcolm and his lovely wife Katie, who was the lead organiser for the 2025 Norfolk & Suffolk Flower of Suffolk LDWA 100. Katie said:

“Malcolm relied heavily on the support and encouragement of the volunteers much more than normal this weekend. He thinks you are all wonderful!”

I’m very impressed at how some entrants were still smiling so much at the end. I always look quite grumpy.

There’s also a huge amount of emotion, from entrants and marshals, at the achievement that walking 100 is. Here are Brian Layton and Vikki Kemp from BBN group.

David Stabler, Paul Nellist and Peter Ford from the Northumbria group. Paul is the national LDP officer on the NEC and very good he is too!

Mark Pennington, looking cool, calm and collected.

Nyall Rees and Robert Crayston.

Sandra Brown gliding in and she’s got her own Wikipedia page which is some achievement.

And congratulations to John Babajide who completed the LDWA 100 in around 47 hours, which is some going.

Sarah Heal noted:

“At the finish I told John we had been watching him for a while as he looked a bit lost in the wood .. turned out he lost his hat and spent an hour looking for it .. he then went into the local cricket club and asked if he could buy a hat and a man gave him his and said “no charge you need it more than me today” – a lovely 100 story”

The kindness of strangers and imagine the stress of having to spend an hour looking for something in this heat and knowing how far left there was on the route. So brave.