Neil, one of those entrants who has been inspired by me (but I don’t go on about it other than in conversation, writing and most available public forums) didn’t make it this time round as the heat was just too much. But he was very brave and in typical Neil style, he was full of positivity and remained upbeat.
It’s Sunday morning at 08:00 and I’m getting ever closer to Kent, but I’m informed that we’ve now reached 150 retirements so far. The total number of retirements last year in Norfolk & Suffolk was 114, so the heat and hills seem to be having some impact on entrants.
But well done to everyone who has taken part and good luck to those still on the walk. So very brave…
A photo from the always understated Pam, this is the Norfolk & Suffolk checkpoint. My eye is first drawn to the chocolates at the front and the Cheesy Feet that Chelle makes, which helpfully distracts me from this entirely unnecessary frivolity from Jane, Michael, Yvonne and Hilary amongst others…. But I won’t say anything.
There are a number of interviews with entrants of the 100 at https://www.julianwhite.uk/ldwa-100/ with more coming, but I thought that I’d summarise some of the interviews that have been received so far. And add my own commentary of my 100 in 2021 which I of course hardly mention….. This is the second summary of the interviews, with the first here.
The LDWA 100 is, on paper, a walking event. In practice it is also a test of sleep deprivation, footcare, navigation, catering, human kindness and the ability to make sensible decisions after the point at which most people would have taken a taxi, booked a hotel and reassessed their life choices. The interviews with Helen Strong, Guy Evans, Anne Wade and Annette Merchant show the 2026 Hunnypot Hundred not just as a long-distance challenge, but as a huge collective effort by walkers, organisers and marshals.
Helen Strong, LDWA General Secretary and a Kent Group committee member, has been closely involved with the organisation of this year’s event, including as Entries Secretary. She described a year of work involving qualifying event records, SiEntries pages, cancellations, the waiting list, tally cards, trackers, joining instructions and registration volunteers. It is a reminder that a 100 begins long before anyone reaches the start line, although naturally some entrants may assume it has all emerged by magic, perhaps from a spreadsheet-bearing woodland creature. In reality, the application to hold this 100 was received by the LDWA’s NEC in 2019, so this event has been seven years in the planning. Helen said the organiser’s side had shown her that “there are many elements that need to be perfect, but a few elements which do not”, adding that while many entrants had been appreciative, some messages had come from people with “absolutely no idea what is involved”.
That unseen work is a theme picked up strongly by Anne Wade, the LDWA 100s Coordinator on the NEC, who has herself completed 22 hundreds. She said that local groups face major challenges in finding a suitable HQ, parking, catering facilities, changing rooms, volunteers and the long lead-in time needed to make the event happen. For entrants, she said, the two most important things are “the route and the food”, which is perhaps the most LDWA sentence ever constructed. The route needs to be scenic, interesting and maybe not too cruel in the final quarter, while the food needs to be plentiful, varied and available at exactly the moment a walker begins to view custard as a major philosophical necessity.
Anne and Helen both walked the marshals’ event, and their comments suggest that the Hunnypot route will be beautiful, varied and rather more demanding than anyone hoping for a gentle wander through Kent might have wished. Anne praised the “views and variety”, including fields, forest, heath and down, but also remembered the night section when rain and fog made route-finding harder and the descent to Kemsing followed by the climb back up felt especially challenging. Helen was even more direct, warning that the Kent landscape is “hilly – both slow climbs and steep ones”, with the Greensand Ridge and North Downs combining to produce a final section she described in one word, namely “Brutal.”
Guy Evans brings the perspective of an experienced entrant who has already completed four LDWA 100s and still, with an admirable lack of self-preservation, wants to keep coming back. He described the event as “iconic” and praised its “understated, unpretentious, laid-back, friendly atmosphere”, saying it has a very different feel from other ultra events. His journey into the 100 also carries the familiar LDWA logic of escalation: family walks led to long-distance events, then 50s, then the thought that he would do just one 100 because “only mad people walk a 100 miles”. He now wonders whether a 100 is enough, which suggests the madness has settled in nicely and should no longer be disturbed.
For Guy, one of the secrets is not thinking about the full distance. He said the lesson from his first 100 was simply to think about getting to the next checkpoint, adding that “a very large part of finishing is mental not physical”. His advice to first-timers is rooted in that same approach which is namely do not overthink it, know your reason for doing it, remember that lows pass and smile even when you do not feel like it. There is a lovely understatement in his description of the later stages, where the event is 70 or 80 per cent complete, the walker is tired and the end still feels distant. His wife might call what keeps him going stubbornness although he prefers determination, which is the same thing with better publicity.
Annette Merchant offers another essential perspective, having been involved with the hundred since the 1994 Dartmoor event and describing Hunnypot as her 30th hundred. She first became involved because her husband Les was entering the events, but over the years the annual gathering of walkers and marshals became something she wanted to keep returning to, even after Les died in 2020. She said she realised early on that a checkpoint could “really make a difference”, especially for mid-paced and slower walkers trying to complete the event. That is the practical heart of the 100 which is tired people arriving at a hall, sometimes in the small hours, needing food, reassurance, sympathy and possibly to be protected from their own rash decision to sit down for too long.
Annette’s view of checkpoints is refreshingly practical. The hall needs space, the kitchen needs the right equipment, the food needs to match the facilities and walkers should not have to queue when what they really need is to change socks, sort gear and be gently encouraged back into functioning humanity. She said marshals need to understand how walkers feel, be “prepared to have a joke” and be sympathetic when people are nauseous or fatigued. She is also careful about retirements, saying that a potential retiree’s tally is not taken until they have stopped, eaten, drunk, rested and still decided to retire. No point rushing these decisions….
Food, inevitably, runs through all four interviews with the emotional force normally reserved for major family events. Anne says LDWA walkers are “powered by tea and fuelled by cake” and Helen says food is critical, though on the marshals’ event she relied heavily on her own sweet snacks, savoury food at checkpoints and an uncharacteristic fondness for full-fat Coke. Annette argues for a good mix of sweet and savoury, not too much in any one portion and enough variety to suit people arriving at very different times of day. In the civilised world this is called catering; on a 100 it is morale, medicine and emotional support in edible form.
Taken together, the four interviews present the Hunnypot 100 as something much richer than a long walk. It is a demanding route through Kent and Sussex, a logistical exercise, a community reunion, a test of personal resolve and a tribute to the volunteers who keep smiling even when they have had very little sleep. Helen is looking forward to visiting the checkpoints by car after completing the marshals’ event, which may be the most sensible aspiration expressed in the entire set of interviews and might be something that Richard and I do this weekend.
Guy remembers the moment around mile 90 when a walker knows they are going to finish. Anne reminds entrants to eat from the first checkpoint because they cannot run on empty. Annette says marshalling should be treated as “a social event, a weekend away with friends and like-minded people, helping colleagues to succeed in a significant challenge”. That may be the best summary of the LDWA 100, an unreasonable distance made possible by very reasonable people.
To my disappointment, other things meant that I can’t get to the LDWA 100 in Kent (more information about that at https://www.julianwhite.uk/ldwa-100/) until Sunday morning. However, as of Saturday evening, there have been a fair number of retirements which is not unexpected in the extreme heat that is out there. I’ve heard that checkpoints have been offering huge amounts of support, lots of liquids and a place in the shade.
The tracking for this event is at https://track.trail.live/event/hunnypot-100 and I hope to be posting a fair amount more over the next 36 hours about the event. So many brave entrants….
I’ve dusted off my previous page at https://www.julianwhite.uk/ldwa-100/ all about the LDWA 100 to bring it up to date for 2026.
This interview is with Annette and although she’s completed an LDWA 100, she has some interesting perspectives from a view of being an event organiser and marshal.
Q. Could you briefly introduce yourself and say how you came to be involved with the LDWA?
A. I am Annette Merchant, I became involved with the LDWA when my husband, Les, started walking the annual hundred mile challenges in 1985. Initially I left him to do the event, but when Cornwall and Devon group hosted the 1994 Dartmoor hundred, I got involved in the organisation of the event and then started to marshal at the C&D checkpoint, going to Marches in 1995 where we did breakfast at Clun. I have been involved every year since. The Hunnypot will be my 30th hundred.
Q. You’ve been marshalling hundreds since 1994. What has kept bringing you back to help with these events for so many years?
A. Initially, because Les was entering the event I wanted to be there to see him through our checkpoint and support him, but I made so many friends over the years amongst the other regular entrants and marshals that I looked forward to seeing them each year, both at the start and our checkpoint and then at the finish. So even after Les died in 2020, I found I wanted to keep coming to the hundred. Also, early on, I realised that we could really make a difference at our checkpoint, especially to the mid and slower paced walkers and their being able to complete the event which gives me huge sense of satisfaction.
Q. Cornwall and Devon group will be manning Ide Hill on this year’s event, which is around 75 miles in. What makes a good checkpoint from the marshal’s side?
A. We look for a kitchen with the right equipment matched to the food we are being asked to serve. Plenty of space, so that we can have drinks station and prep cold food away from the kitchen. A lobby for check in, a good hatch from the kitchen directly into the hall. A good amount of parking (quite a few of our marshals have campers for staying overnight before we open).
Q. What do you think walkers most need from checkpoint teams when they arrive tired, hungry or beginning to wonder whether sitting down was a tactical error?
A. They need to be able to concentrate on themselves, changing socks, sorting gear, head torches etc., not queue for food and drinks. They need marshals who can understand how they are feeling and can encourage them, prepared to have a joke, but sympathetic and helpful if they’re feeling nauseous or fatigued. The food needs to be appetising and easily eaten when they are likely to be dehydrated and finding it difficult to get food down.
Q. You’ve been involved in organising four hundreds, including the 2027 Jurassic 100. What are the biggest things that need to come together behind the scenes to make a 100 work well?
A. The people dealing with each of the main aspects – Route, HQ, checkpoints, catering and transport need to communicate and work together to ensure that the route is safe and passes through checkpoint locations at appropriate distances. That the food provided matches the facilities available at the halls and the halls can provide the appropriate food needed at that point (hot, cold, etc.) Transport needs to be able to deliver food and equipment to checkpoints efficiently and try to minimise retirement waiting times. They all need to work together, along with the communication on the day.
Q. From an organiser’s perspective, what are the details that entrants might not notice when everything goes smoothly, but which make a huge difference to the event?
A well written route description, providing the right food in the right places. Marshals that are sympathetic and understanding, especially in the latter stages. Providing information to supporters.
Q. You’ve attempted two hundreds and completed one. How has being on the walking side helped you understand what entrants need from the organising and marshalling teams?
A. Having retired on one and seen Les retire on a few hundreds, I understand how you can feel as though you just can’t go any further but can regret the decision within hours of making it. That is why we never take a potential retiree’s tally until they have stopped, had some food and drink and rested for a while and then still decided to retire. I also know the euphoria of having completed and how all the bad bits of the walk fade quickly, which makes me want to help those that are struggling at our CP to achieve that and have that feeling of euphoria.
Q. Food can become rather central on a 100, sometimes with the emotional weight of a major life decision. What do you think makes good checkpoint food on an event of this length?
A. A good mix of sweet and savoury. Not big portions. Some checkpoints are open for a long time a CP could be lunch for one person and evening for another, so versatile food with different options for different tastes.
Q. What advice would you give to entrants taking part in their first 100?
A. Don’t get swept up into walking too fast at the beginning, walk at a comfortable pace that you can keep up for hours at a time. Don’t be overwhelmed by the whole distance, just concentrate on getting to the next checkpoint. Have target times for arriving at each checkpoint to help you keep your pace, but don’t let them rule you.
Q. What would you say to someone interested in marshalling LDWA challenge events?
A. You need to aim to have fun. Treat it as a social event, a weekend away with friends and like-minded people, helping colleagues to succeed in a significant challenge. The camaraderie and atmosphere is amazing.
Q. Finally, tell us what entrants can look forwards to at the Jurassic 100 in May 2027.
A. Some fabulous walking along the Jurassic coast, with a mix of riverside, common and countryside walking and some lovely Devon villages. There will also be some great food and plenty of encouragement from their LDWA colleagues.
I’ve dusted off my previous page at https://www.julianwhite.uk/ldwa-100/ all about the LDWA 100 to bring it up to date for 2026.
This interview is with Anne, the 100s Coordinator, and she completed the marshals’ event in early May with her husband Vaughan. Here they are in the photo on Pooh Sticks Bridge which is on the route of the 100. There’s some great advice here!
Q. Could you briefly introduce yourself, your role as the national 100 organiser and how many LDWA 100s have you entered?
A. Hello. I’m Anne Wade. LDWA 100s Coordinator on the NEC. This means that I support and help future 100 organising committees to organise our annual flagship 100-mile events. Since these take place all over the country, the role involves a lot of travelling, a lot of sharing of documents and information, and responding to lots of requests for advice and to carry out specific tasks. I have now completed 22 100s and they have all been very different in terms of location, ascent, terrain and weather. What remains steadfast is the warm, friendly welcome at checkpoints and the delicious food.
Q. From your perspective, what are the biggest challenges for a local group in putting on an event of this size?
A. Finding a suitable HQ with adequate spaces, parking, catering facilities and changing rooms. Finding able and enthusiastic volunteers for the various committee roles and the long lead-in time.
Q. What do you think makes a really good LDWA 100, both for entrants and for the volunteers who make it happen?
A. As an entrant, the 2 most important things are the route and the food:
Route – well-thought-out and designed to be scenic and to visit places of interest. Not too many steep hills or stiles, especially in the last quarter. Nice clear footpaths and tracks.
Food – range of plentiful and good quality food. Sweet and savoury at every checkpoint. Variety of hot meals.
As a volunteer, it’s so rewarding to see entrants achieve their goals. Smiling, jolly and grateful entrants make volunteering worthwhile. There are so many roles to be filled in organising a 100-mile event and over both weekends, there is certainly a job for you! Why not be an entrant on one weekend and be a volunteer on the other? Best of both worlds!
Q. You completed the marshals’ event with Vaughan. How did you find the route, and did anything particularly stand out from walking it together?
A. Yes. We always walk together. Now that the trees and bushes are in leaf, the route was even more beautiful than on our recce in March. There were plenty of bluebells, wild garlic and birdsong to keep our senses busy. Walking the route together gives us another shared experience for our life-long memories and reminiscences.
Q. What do you think entrants should most look forward to on this year’s route?
A. Views and variety. The views from the tops of the hills and variety (fields, forest, heath and down). The warm encouraging welcome and amazing food at checkpoints.
Q. Was there a particular stretch that felt mentally tougher than expected, even if it was not necessarily the hardest on paper?
A. When it rained and was foggy during the night. Makes route-finding more tricky and being outside less pleasurable. The descent from the Downs to Kemsing (CP12) immediately followed by the ascent back up to the Downs felt particularly challenging.
Q. How do you get through moments where things feel tough, tiredness creeps in and you start to question your sanity on why you entered?
A. You don’t question it, you just keep going. Surely you know that LDWA walkers are powered by tea and fuelled by cake!
Q. Food becomes rather important on a 100 and is the highlight of the event for many. Are there any particular checkpoint foods or walking snacks that you find especially helpful on a long event?
A. Vaughan eats constantly throughout the event. He takes stashes of food from every checkpoint, munches his way along and is starving again by the time we get to the next one. I tend to eat lots at the checkpoints and that lasts until the next one. Initially, I like sweet foods and coca cola. Then I prefer savoury foods and anything dairy-based. I like to drink milk or weak tea. I especially like the hot meals.
Q. What advice would you give to someone taking on their first LDWA 100 this year?
A. Footcare is going to be the most important factor in completing the event with some degree of comfort. The Weald clay has dried into lumps, which are not kind to 100-mile feet. Top tip – stick sanitary towels to the insoles of your shoes – the extra padding works wonders!
Do not go out too fast. Save some energy for the relentless steep hills in the last quarter.
Eat plenty right from the first checkpoint. You will burn around 10,000 calories and you cannot run on empty.
Q. Finally, when you look at the amount of work that goes into each 100, what do you hope entrants remember about the people behind the event whether it be the organisers or the marshals at the checkpoints?
A. Smiling and encouraging from the start all the way through to the finish, even though they will be just as tired and will have had very little sleep.
Walking and eating are the easy parts. While rewarding, marshalling at HQ and the CPs is really difficult at times and there are always crises to deal with, of which entrants will be blissfully unaware. Then there are the unseen heroes, like the control team, media team, transport team, baggage team, sweepers, as well as the caterers and cleaners.
I’ve dusted off my previous page at https://www.julianwhite.uk/ldwa-100/ all about the LDWA 100 to bring it up to date for 2026.
This interview is with Guy Evans and I like who inspired him during Covid! And there’s some great advice here.
Q. Could you briefly introduce yourself and say how you first became involved with long-distance walking?
A. I’m a long-time walker, more recently turned into a sometime runner. I’m an addict. A long distance addict. It started with family walks, then one thing led to another and I entered my first long distance event, the Bath Beat organised by a certain David Morgan at the time. But after a while that wasn’t enough and I stepped up to 50s. I still have the mug from my first ever 50, the Poppyline 50 back when it was held in the summer. Fortunately, the appalling blisters that I also acquired eventually healed! It took me a long time to get my head around doing a 100 miles and I was partially inspired by Julian’s blog posts during Covid to take the plunge. “I’ll just do the one then I know I can do it. Only mad people walk a 100 miles.” Now I’m at the point where I’m wondering if a 100 is enough. So I’m an addict. But I figure there are worst things to be addicted to!
Q. You’ve completed four LDWA 100s already. What keeps bringing you back to the event?
A. It’s iconic. Above all, I love the understated, unpretentious, laid-back, friendly atmosphere. It has a very different feel than other ultra events. As it’s in a different part of the country each year the route and scenery is always new. Finally, I don’t currently need to worry about cut-offs. I plan to do them as long as I am able.
Q. What did you learn from your first 100 that still feels useful now?
A. Not to think about the overall distance. Just think how far it is to the next checkpoint. A very large part of finishing is mental not physical.
Q. How does your approach to a 100 change with experience? Are you calmer now, better prepared, or just more aware of the various little indignities waiting along the way?
A. For sure, I’m more relaxed. There is confidence in knowing I can do the distance and in knowing my kit, what to put in the drop bag etc. But there are always doubts, a 100 miles is a long way. I’m better mentally prepared but due to injury less physically prepared.
Q. What are you most looking forward to about this year’s Hunnypot 100 in Kent?
A. Catching up with people who I haven’t seen for a while, a number of them since last year’s 100. I’ve heard the scenery in the last quarter is good, so I hope I’m not too tired to enjoy that. And of course dodging the heffalump trap.
Q. Are there particular parts of a 100 that you especially enjoy, whether that is the early miles, the night section, the checkpoints or the final stretch?
A. I love the absurdity of the breakfast stop and in particular the full English. That and the beer at the last checkpoint 🙂 A wonderful juxtaposition that somehow sums up the LDWA so well!
I’ve always had a second wind after the breakfast stop that carries me through for a bit, then there is “just” a good day’s walk to the finish. Night sections I used to despise, but I’m beginning to appreciate the stillness more.
Q. What do you find hardest about the later stages of a 100, and how do you keep yourself moving when tiredness starts to take over?
A. The general fatigue. However long the event it’s about 70%-80% of the way through that I often find hard, you’re tired but the end isn’t yet in sight. As to how to cope, I saw a sign on an ultra that really resonated with me: “You didn’t come this far to come this far”. That’s so true. Determination keeps me going, my wife would say stubbornness. In some perverse way, I’m looking forward to that feeling of fatigue. I feel I may regret saying this.
Q. Food can become rather central on an event like this, sometimes alarmingly so. Are there any checkpoint foods or walking snacks that you particularly hope to find on a long event?
A. I’m lucky in that I can usually eat anything. Hot cross buns are a favourite but tend to be seasonal!
Q. What advice would you give to someone taking on their first LDWA 100 this year?
A. 0. You’re amazing for getting to the start line. It’s too easy to get into a bubble and forget that we are all ordinary people doing extraordinary things.
Q. Finally, when you look back on the 100s you’ve completed, what moments tend to stay with you most?
A. Great question. It seems somewhat random. Being alone on the Great Ridge in the dark and wind, chatting with someone on the canals going into Stratford, in Scotland summiting a hill at sunset well past 10pm, a pretty river section. Those and the moment around mile 90 where you know, really know, that you’re going to finish and you just need to walk it in. I remember ringing my wife nearly in tears on my first 100 at that point.
I’ve dusted off my previous page at https://www.julianwhite.uk/ldwa-100/ all about the LDWA 100 to bring it up to date for 2026.
This interview is with Helen Strong who has been closely involved with the organisation of this 100 and she’s also on the NEC. She mentions hallucinations and that the hills on this event are brutal, although I personally think all hills are brutal but I might have mentioned that….
Q. Could you briefly introduce yourself and say how you came to be involved with long-distance walking, along with how many LDWA 100s have you entered?
A. My name is Helen and I am currently General Secretary of the LDWA and am also a committee member for the Kent Group.
I got involved in long distance walking in the early 2000s. I wanted to get fit after my second child and joined a local power walking group. I completed my first Moonwalk in 2003 and completed two others after that. In that group was someone called Susan Cannell, she walked with the London group and she encouraged me to do the UK Three Peaks Challenge and the Beachy Head Marathon. I was also a bit of a runner, but a recurring injury in 2016 meant I needed to stop running for 12 weeks. I wanted to keep fit, go back to walking long distances and asked Susan who she walked with. She put me in touch with someone from the London group and I joined their walk. I loved it from day one. I have entered and completed five 100s now.
Q. As someone from the Kent group, what does it mean to have this year’s LDWA 100 taking place on home territory?
A. Well, although the event is in Kent, it isn’t a Kent group 100, and we actually spend a fair amount of time in Sussex too. What it means for me is that I have been able to recce the route – and actually this has been invaluable. It is rather a complex route and I was particularly glad I had recced the Ashdown Forest sections – they are not easy to navigate in the dark! The other benefit was knowing how tough the last 30 miles are and preserving some energy for that.
Q. You were entries secretary for the event. What has that involved, and has it changed how you look at the 100 from the organiser’s side?
A. As Entries Secretary I have been busy for a whole year. I started by constructing a database for all the qualifying events and then working on the SiE pages. I have been involved in my partner David’s challenge event, so know my way around SiE, but there’s much more to consider with a 100. The team at SiE are very responsive and helpful in answering questions. When entries opened, it is my job to check the qualifiers, and have had a constant stream of questions from participants. I have had to deal with cancellations and the waiting list, but everyone on there was offered a place. As the weekend of the event gets nearer, there’s a lot of admin to do, sorting the entrant list, ordering the tally cards, trackers and writing the joining instructions. I’m leading the Registration Team too – so I have been communicating with the volunteers for that.
I’ve also been involved in committee meetings and general discussions on pretty much everything to do with this event. What I have learnt being on the organiser’s side is that there are many elements that need to be perfect, but a few elements which do not. I’ve had some lovely emails which reflect the appreciation of all the time and effort as well as some frankly rude messages which are clearly from individuals who have absolutely no idea what is involved.
Q. You completed the marshals’ event, but had to walk through a second night. What was going through your mind during that second night, and how did you keep yourself moving?
A. Nobody likes going through a second night. On the Flower of Suffolk 100 we came in at 01:00, this year it was gone 07:00! We walked a steady slower pace from the 50 mile stage at Horsted Keynes.
Going through the second night you just get more tired and I had a funny hallucination which involved me thinking a cut tree trunk was someone’s rucksack. What kept me going was the knowledge that we were going to finish but accepting it would be daylight.
Q. Having walked the route yourself, what parts do you think entrants will particularly enjoy?
A. The start is particularly nice. I happened to have a social walk which takes in some of the first five miles. I love walking through the Silverhand Estate and as I only live a couple of miles down the road from CP1, it’s very much home territory for me.
Q. What do you think entrants should know about the Kent landscape before they arrive, especially if they are expecting it all to be gentle and civilised?
A. It’s hilly – both slow climbs and steep ones. I can see the North Downs from the back of my house. When people on the 100 think they are going up the North Downs – after Ide Hill – it’s actually the Greensand Ridge they are skirting, that’s before the route goes up and down the North Downs several times. Brutal.
Q. Food is an important part of the event, what kept you going on the marshals’ event, and what food do you most look forwards to seeing at a checkpoint?
A. Food is critical – what kept me going was a good stash of my own sweet snacks which I needed to eat between CPs. At the CPs I had mostly savoury food. I missed the fish finger sandwich this year, and generally the food was poor. I don’t like tea or coffee on the 100 but have developed a penchant for full fat coke which I never drink any other time.
Q. How important is the support from volunteers, marshals and checkpoint teams when people are getting tired, hungry or a little bit existential?
A. The support from the volunteers is fantastic. I like it when we chat with Brian Layton about everything LDWA. When people offer food and then run off to fill your order while someone else offers to refill your water.
Q. If you could give one piece of practical advice to someone heading into their first LDWA 100, what would it be?
A. Take it easy – you have 48 hours to finish and so they should concentrate on finishing, not getting a good time. Especially on this route.
Q. Finally, after being involved with the event so closely, what are you most looking forward to when the 100 weekend itself arrives? Seeing the main crowd depart at 10am, then 12 & 2pm starters.
A. As I am responsible for the Registration Team, I hope that goes smoothly. I’m also looking forward to visiting all the CPs – but this time, by car.
I’ve dusted off my previous page at https://www.julianwhite.uk/ldwa-100/ all about the LDWA 100 to bring it up to date for 2026.
This interview is with Nick who has been doing lots of training ready to aim for his first LDWA completion.
Q. Could you briefly introduce yourself and say how you first became involved with long-distance walking?
A. I first learnt about long distance walking and the LDWA through a friend Breeze Rowlands, some people frown upon walking in the world of running as its slower, I was a keen fan of Jeff Galloway who encouraged it but it’s nothing different for me, I think of it as a conversational pace, its still can be very tough. I have also been the support for Breeze on countless events over the past 10 years.
Q. How many LDWA 100s have you completed before, and do any of them particularly stand out?
A. I’ve only had one attempt, that was the EBB in 2023, got to 68 miles and my body just gave up, I had so much going on around me before, I learnt so much about myself in 2023 and with my preparation for this year. I’ve got lots of memories from various 100s with being the support for Breeze, one memory with her is meeting her up the top of Mam Tor with a coffee at 4am.
Q. What made you decide to take on this year’s 100 in Kent?
A. I was in a position to have a go at the Flower of Suffolk 100 in 2025, but a hip issue followed by a broken arm stopped that, So quite naturally the next choice would be the HP100, I am also a big Disney nerd, and to go over the pooh sticks bridge in a event is so cool, who know I might bump into Christopher Robin, or find a Heffalump or even see a woozle!
Q. How has your training been going, and have you done anything differently this time?
A. Training has been going really well, I’ve had lots of back to back events, also working out how i go on with the lack of sleep, and working out how to deal with, for example I did the Reverse London Marathon (starts at midnight nine hours before main event) had a hour to chill then I did the actual London Marathon. I did the Calverdale way over 2 days and last weekend I did the Marsden Moor marathon followed by Leeds Marathon, it’s all about being up and on your feet, getting your body used to doing crazy things.
Q. How prepared do you feel at this stage, physically and mentally?
A. I feel fab, ready to deal with it, bring it on!
Q. What are you most looking forward to about the event?
A. Pooh sticks bridge.
Q. Is there any part of the route, the distance, the weather or the logistics that you’re feeling slightly nervous about?
So just need the man upstairs to decide on the weather, and the ascent that we have overall, Kent and Sussex isn’t flat apparently.
Q. Food can become strangely important on a 100-mile event. What do you usually rely on to keep yourself going, and is there anything you absolutely cannot face after enough miles?
Food is a hard one, and a thing that I have had to experiment with a lot, I’ve got everything I need prepped, I am coeliac and I work in catering, and I really don’t get why the LDWA overthinks it, and makes it so hard. From experience if your saying you get a pie and gravy at a checkpoint or the end of an event, I want pie, folk around me are eating it , why can’t I have it? On the route I plan to have flapjack and jam sandwiches.
Q. When things get difficult during a long event, what helps you keep moving?
A. The conversations you have while you’re out, you meet some cool people, all doing the same cool thing, I’ve learnt that from doing a few 50s now and my experience from the Elephant, Bear and Bull in 2023, every person you meet is a friend that you haven’t met yet and and hopefully will see them somewhere else either in a few hours or weeks at another event.
Q. What would make this year’s 100 feel like a success for you?
To finish, in the time would be fab.
