Category: 2025 LDWA 100

My plan was to stay awake on Saturday night and then get the train home on Sunday night, so that I only lost one night’s sleep. It’s not even sub-optimal, as this doesn’t really feel much of a sacrifice when we have entrants that are walking solidly for nearly 48 hours. Anyway, Katie told me on my arrival on Saturday evening that I’d be taking charge, which surprised me if I’m being honest and I think delighted me…. This is the moving map that we have of entrants so that we can see where they all are and check if they’re going off course. If we see an entrant going wrong, then we’ll do what we can to get them back on the route and to ensure that they stay safe.

This is the symbol of power…. It’s the emergency phone that entrants can ring if they have any problems or difficulties during the event. As this point we had around seven checkpoints open with tens of marshals, along with over fifty walkers out there. We also had a team of drivers at HQ who could pick up any walker who retired and they would also shuttle around closing checkpoints when entrants had gone through and then moving the food and checkpoint items around where they were then needed.

I thought that I’d better calm my nerves before this moment of power, so a three course meal seemed in order and here’s the sizeable starter.

The second course was a hash brown and bacon sandwich.

Then I thought I’d better have a dessert of some apple crumble with custard to just ensure that I was fully energised.

Thanks to the kitchen crew for their supplying bacon rolls with the fat cut off for me, it was much appreciated. Actually, thanks to the kitchen crew for quite a lot of food and drink. And during the night, we were kept busy at HQ and the emergency phone did ring on numerous occasions. And thanks to Pam at one of the checkpoints for the excellent levels of gossip and updates that were maintained. At the main event in three weeks, this is all handled differently as we have a control room, RAYNET provide radio communications to every checkpoint and there are more vehicles and drivers shuttling around. But on that event we will have over 500 entrants taking part, so it’s all ten times in scale than the marshals’ event.

It was all genuinely very exciting, we got the retired walkers back quickly and there was one walker who didn’t retire at a checkpoint but at a church, and we collected him. Food was shuttled about, checkpoints were updated and we got messages on how entrants were getting on. It all seemed to go very quickly and the next day I told Katie, the organiser of the event, how well I’d done, but she didn’t doubt that…. I then refused to hand over the control of the emergency phone for several more hours and then I realised I was hungry and Katie could once again take back control.

Catching up with Simon and Claire just before one of the checkpoints and it was becoming evident the fast pace that they were going at. They were intending to keep this up, as best as they could, for the entire event rather than varying their pace.

By his own admission, Richard struggled to keep up with Simon and Claire on the 100 metre walk into the checkpoint.

There’s a kit check at a random point during the event and entrants have to draw a random ball out and prove that they have that item in their bag. Simon drew out a first aid kit and he was able to produce this, although I thought that we should analyse the contents to double check, he was deemed to have passed. The aim of this process is to ensure that everyone carries the key items that will keep them safe on a 100 mile walk.

This is rather marvellous, this is a personalised Ordnance Survey map for the Norfolk and Suffolk LDWA event and it has the GPX of the route overlaid onto the map. The map has been centred on the event and the front of the map is personalised, so it’s rather a lovely memento. Apparently it costs around £25 which seems rather decent value for something so unique. I suggested that Richard buy a map of his longest walk, but I don’t think they can deal with such small GPX files.

I always like a trip out to a checkpoint and this is CP1 with Sara and the other volunteers offering a friendly welcome. Andy was also here taking photos of all the entrants who wanted a permanent reminder of their bravery in taking part in the event. This checkpoint is 10.5 miles into the marshals’ event and is the first of 15, plus the finish point.

Some of the food options available to entrants, it’s all nutritious and full of energy for the adventures ahead. Well, other than the bananas.

And here’s David Morgan and Simon Pipe, a slightly mismatched pairing in terms that one strides and the one has to run to keep up…..

Richard busy Googling how to fix computers….

Richard is head of PAT testing at this event. Simon gave him the name of Patman, which Richard has rather enjoyed and he mentioned getting himself a cape with that on for the main event in a couple of weeks.

Anyone who needed anything PAT testing could go to Richard and he’d vaguely look at it and bung a sticker on it.

Off they go! Katie finished her introductory speech two minutes early, so most of the entrants left at 09:30. There were also a few at 10:00, although I was gossiping inside and missed that. Only David Morgan and Simon Pipe started at 10:30, but they’ll soon catch up.

A video of Katie thanking the volunteers on the local 100 committee for their help over the last four years. There’s been a lot of organisation to get this event going and countless hours of work.

And some event instructions.

And here’s Richard, one of the 100 committee, looking noticeably thinner following his diet and that’s been the talk of the registration desk today.

Peter and I used to run the registration desk at Norfolk & Suffolk LDWA events for many years. We agreed that we were both above average, but Peter retired from it a few years ago and I was stuck with Richard. So, it was marvellous to relive the good old times at this event!

There’s Simon being thanked for all his risk assessments on the 100 (he’s the smug one in the background with the flash of green on his backpack). I interviewed him a few years ago for my series of ‘walking the 100’ posts. And don’t worry, he won’t mind me calling him smug   🙂