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 Sab and I liked how he refers to himself as a lazy runner, I think I’m not dissimilar to that! This will be his fourth LDWA 100 and he was kind enough to answer some questions for me.
Q. Could you briefly introduce yourself and what got you into long distance walking?
A. Myself Sab, moved to UK 8 years ago. I am originally from India, currently lives in Middlesbrough. As I was a lazy runner and didn’t do any solo running during Covid, I joined a walking group after Covid. My best friend from that walking group mentioned about LDWA and my first walk was the Kettlewell challenge event in 2022, there I met another walker who has done more than 20 hundreds by then. That was the first time we as a group heard about the 100, and 8 of us where at the starting line of EBB100 the following year.
Q. How many LDWA 100s have you completed before, and what keeps bringing you back to the distance?
A. Three hundreds so far. This is now my annual pilgrimage, if I can say that 🙂 Plan is not to miss out on one as long as I can do a 100. Plenty of reasons to do the event. To name a few, it is a great holiday where you spend time with friends, challenging yourself, hitting the wall, find the strength which you never knew you had, making new friends, meeting friends from allover the country and seeing another part of the country, the wonderful marshals etc.
Q. How has your training been going, and has anything surprised you about the preparation this time?
A. Training was great, done plenty of miles in April, including a few 50 milers. It shouldn’t be a surprise, but I was worn out by end of April.
Q. How prepared do you feel at this stage, physically and mentally?
A. Feels that I am extremely well prepared both physically and mentally.
Q. What are you most looking forward to about the event?
A. The camaraderie. Exploring the part of the country I have never been before.
Q. Is there anything about this particular 100 that feels especially challenging, whether that’s the route, the distance, the timing or simply staying cheerful at 3am?
A. The route got more elevation than my past 100s. So waiting to see how the body will cope with the ascents later in the event.
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?
A. I find it easier to eat fruits (melon and orange) even when I could not eat other food items. Peanuts and crisps work well for me too. I found it difficult to eat bread sandwiches after around 70 miles last time.
Q. Do you have any little routines, habits or bits of advice that help you through the harder parts of a long event?
A. “This too shall pass” true for both good and bad times, but remember it more when you have a bad time. The one thing I do when I feel sleepy while walking, just change the pace infrequently (walk fast, slow, change gait, cadence etc) so that the brain can’t find a rhythm to settle in.
Q. When you look back afterwards, what do you think will make this year’s 100 feel memorable?
A. New friends I made, any funny stories from the walk, the sunrise on Sunday and may be on Monday too.